Madam Chair, I thank the hon. member for his question and also for introducing the bill. Moreover, I pointed out in the first hour of debate that the Bloc Québécois was working on something similar.
The Americans are not the only ones engaging in harassment with regard to trade disputes. I am thinking of countries like New Zealand and Australia, in connection with milk, as well as the Brazilians—in addition to the U.S.—in connection with steel and swine. Our trading partners need to know that the Canadian government will support its industry.
The bill that has been introduced and that we will support, imposes some conditions of course. It is not a matter of requiring the government to jump in with loan guarantees as soon as some sector of industry is attacked by a foreign country, but this situation is different. Systematically, over the past 30 years, the highly protectionist U.S. softwood lumber industry has been involved in disputes over this.
As I have said, we do have some allies in the United States, and some of them will be here in Ottawa tomorrow. We will be meeting with them and I am sure they will also be meeting with members of the government, the Conservative Party and the NDP. Our trading partners need to know that we are prepared to support our industries when they are victims of harassment, as is the case with the softwood lumber industry.
I cannot, therefore, understand the Canadian government's attitude. It is not only their attitude toward the softwood lumber sector; they take the same attitude toward clothing, textiles and bicycles. They are afraid to make use of the instruments available to us under international legislation and the agreements we have signed. They are afraid of rubbing someone the wrong way.
That is the answer we got from the Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. According to him, these instruments must be used with caution because the Americans might interpret their use as protectionism. We have been involved in a dispute with them for 40 months. They do not seem to have budged one inch. I do not think that this perception will change no matter what. They will at the very least manage to get the message that the government of Canada will support its industry until they accept the rulings from NAFTA, a treaty they signed in good faith at the time.