Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber agreement has devastated the industry in Vancouver Island North and like I said, the irony is not lost on people in my riding. We see truckload after truckload of raw logs leaving our forest dependent communities to be milled elsewhere. That is all a direct result of the deal that was made with the U.S. It has basically sold out our industry and communities.
It is tragic. Thousands and thousands of jobs have been lost and now we are seeing the effects across the country. In Atlantic Canada there are mills closing. My colleague from Acadie—Bathurst was showing me pictures of trains of logs that are leaving his communities and that is costing thousands and thousands of jobs there.
I have to ask once again, why is the government not standing up for our communities and jobs for Canadians? We should be protecting jobs for Canadians.