Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's phony photo op in New York City yesterday is naturally being billed as a great success by his aides and a new policy of forceful advocacy on the softwood lumber file. It is too bad it was at a CNN studio and not at the White House.
Despite the false bravado, the Prime Minister still has not found time to phone President Bush on this important issue and advocate this tough position.
Based on recent reports, we know the Prime Minister and his cabinet have a great propensity for flying at taxpayer expense. Instead of spending thousands of dollars flying down to New York for a public relations tub thumping exercise, maybe the Prime Minister could just let his fingers do the walking and call the President.