Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question that seemed more directed to the Liberal Party than to me.
However, I must say that I certainly sympathize with the businesses and workers in the softwood lumber industry who find themselves in this situation. We have experienced the same problem.
I know the NDP keeps making this point, saying that it was a mistake. I agree that we lost $1 billion in the process. However, the industry, the unions and the workers in Quebec were asking us and even pressing us to vote in favour of that agreement. It was a matter of survival. The agreement was bad but, at the same time, people in Quebec wanted it. Since our job is to represent these people, we must be attuned to their needs. Therefore, we had to put an end to this dispute with the Americans. We had no choice.