Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to respond to the question asked by the hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing concerning the softwood lumber agreement and the Canadian forest industry.
I think at the outset it is important to remind my colleague of the wide ranging benefits of the agreement. In 2006 Canada and the United States cleared one of the most significant hurdles this industry has ever seen, the softwood lumber dispute.
Key lumber producing provinces like British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, as well as a clear majority of industry players signalled their strong support for the agreement.
Together with the provinces and industry, we worked hard to address a broad range of concerns. The final agreement bears that out. It revoked the U.S. duty orders and terminates all litigation.
It provides at least seven years of stability. It includes a number of initiatives to make North America's lumber industry more competitive over the long term. It returned over $5 billion in duty deposit refunds to Canadian softwood lumber exporters and it safeguards the abilities of the provinces to manage their forests.
As I have said before, the softwood lumber agreement was, and is, the single best way forward for this industry and the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who rely on it.
However, while the softwood lumber agreement is good for Canada, our work certainly did not end on October 12, the day that the agreement entered into force. The enabling legislation was passed on December 14, 2006, and we are now moving forward on the business of implementation.
In fact, the inaugural meeting of the softwood lumber committee took place in Washington, D.C. on February 22-23 of this year. The meeting was an opportunity for representatives from Canada and the United States to begin addressing longer term policy issues of importance to Canada such as establishing a process for determining regional exemptions from export measures and possible exclusions for softwood lumber products made from logs harvested from private lands.
The United States indicated prior to the meeting that it also intended to raise some questions about certain programs implemented by the Ontario and Quebec governments. As my colleague, the hon. Minister of International Trade stated, this was a very cordial first meeting with a very positive, constructive dialogue taking place.
As we all know, following the softwood lumber committee meeting, the United States requested consultations under the agreement on a number of provincial programs as well as federal programs and Canada's interpretation of a provision of the agreement. Consultations involve a more formal exchange of information and are designed to help resolve differences through a better understanding of the measures at issue.
The consultations occurred in Ottawa on April 19 of this year between Canadian and American federal officials. The consultations were constructive and positive providing a useful opportunity to clarify issues and concerns identified by the United States. American officials are now reviewing the information that Canada provided and will contact us if they have any further questions or concerns.
Both sides have an interest in ensuring that the agreement operates smoothly. Disagreements are inevitable in administering and implementing such a complex agreement. It was for this reason that we included in the agreement various institutional provisions that allow for a full exchange of views and to facilitate the resolution of differences in points of view.
We should never forget that we are one another's most important commercial partners.