Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to respond to my colleague from Halifax West in his chronology of events leading up to the situation we are in today and the efforts to resolve if that the government is trying.
Today is an opposition day and the Bloc has chosen to talk about softwood lumber. This is not about softwood lumber in the same way as the issue was not Prince Edward Island potatoes a year ago or hot house tomatoes from British Columbia ten months ago or the steel issue that happened three months ago and was basically resolved. The issue of agricultural products will make the softwood lumber dispute pale in comparison if we allow the Americans to subsidize their agricultural products as they anticipate doing in the coming months. Those are the issues.
What all parties in the House of Commons should be talking about today is a new dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes that come from the United States. During an election process in the United States the dispute resolution system fails to work. What does the member suggest we do to find a new dispute resolution mechanism that is not politicized by the system in the United States? How do we find a system that will be ongoing, fair and equitable to all parties in the House and to all citizens, both in Canada and the United States? I submit that is what we should be doing.