Madam Chair, the minister gave an excellent outline of what the government has done, but he missed one area in my riding of the Yukon. We have very fine grained spruce there. It takes 300 years to grow. There is a very high demand for it around the world, especially overseas. This issue affects us too. I am glad he outlined the steps the government has taken. I noticed that the opposition did not talk about any of the many steps the government has taken. The are very important and commendable steps.
Opposition members talked about our new ambassador to Washington. I have been involved with the ambassador on two items. He has been a very strong and eloquent fighter for Canada. He led our efforts against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He motivated his consulates across the United States. He has been leading a great challenge on the passport issue which we debated last night. He has all his consulates working on that issue.
The opposition suggested sending a person at a lower level, an envoy, but I think we have already had people at a higher level raise this issue. Have ministers or the Prime Minister raised this issue? They are at a higher level than an envoy, but the opposition members are suggesting we send a person at a lower level.