Madam Chair, we are talking tonight about the softwood lumber dispute, but we are really in fact talking about the NAFTA dispute.
As the member will know, the volume of exports of Canadian softwood lumber to the United States for the first half of 2005 was 5% higher than the first half of 2004, and 14% higher than the first half of 2003. The member is probably aware that the quality of Canadian softwood lumber is much preferred by the U.S. the construction industry, and that it is adding about $3,000 on average per home there.
We know that we have a superior product, mostly because of the geography and our climate here. I think the Leader of the Opposition would agree that this is much more than just softwood lumber. We are a major exporter of hydro to the United States. We are a major exporter of other commodities and other resources to the United States. All of these things have a play.
The President of the United States would say summarily that this is just a very small part of the trade between our two countries, so let us not worry about it. My view, and I hope all Canadians would agree, is that we should worry about it because when one of our commodities is touched, when one of the elements of NAFTA is touched, all of them are touched.
I wonder if the Leader of the Opposition would care to comment on a prospective strategy of how we could respond, other than rhetoric, and what he would suggest in terms of pragmatic moves as to what we do in terms of other commodities to demonstrate our resolve that NAFTA must work.