Mr. Speaker, during question period on October 17, 2006, the hon. member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup raised the issue of federal support for the softwood lumber industry.
The question of the hon. member gives the government yet another opportunity to show the House that the government is delivering on its commitments.
From the outset, we committed to resolve the long standing softwood lumber dispute. Less than nine months after taking office, the government made good on its pledge. The softwood lumber agreement is supported by two countries, all lumbering producing provinces and over 90% of the Canadian softwood producers.
This historic agreement gives our producers stable, predictable access to the U.S. market, it ends years of costly litigation and it brings economic certainty to companies, communities and workers across Canada. It returns over $5 billion Canadian in duty deposits to our softwood producers, a significant infusion of capital for the industry. In fact, virtually all of the duties are now in the hands of the producers. That is action.
Resolution of the softwood lumber dispute was a clear demonstration of our government's commitment to the industry. Canadians asked the government to come up with a resolution that provided stability for the industry and protected the livelihoods of workers, communities and families, not only in Quebec but across the country. We have done this.
Throughout the process to negotiate and implement this agreement, we made it abundantly clear that the government recognized the importance of the forest products industry to the Canadian economy. We are keenly aware that there are challenges facing the industry, but we are not just talking about these challenges, like the members opposite. We are addressing them.
As the hon. member will recall, we announced in budget 2006 a $400 million investment to encourage the long term competitiveness of the forest industry to address the pine beetle infestation in western Canada and to assist worker adjustment.
We are delivering on these commitments too. On October 17, the new government announced a new cost shared program with the provinces an territories. The targeted initiative for older workers is a two year initiative that will be cost shared with the provinces and territories and assist thousands of older workers. It addresses the needs of older workers who have lost their jobs in communities where the local economy is facing ongoing unemployment or where industries such as forestry are affected by downsizing and closures.
Earlier this month the government announced measures to fight the mountain pine beetle and address its impacts on forests and communities in British Columbia. We will work closely with the B.C. government to develop a comprehensive strategy to battle this infestation. It will include measures to stop the eastward spread of the beetle and to help affected communities develop new forest products, markets, industries and services to ensure their long term economic well-being.
My hon. colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, is working urgently to deliver on other measures to improve industry competitiveness.
The government has and will continue to support the Canadian forest industry. The actions that we have taken are continuing to make this clear. It is clear to Canadians and it should be clear to the members opposite. Actions speak louder than words.