Mr. Speaker, while budget 2008 provided significant support for the forestry sector, since taking office, we have already provided numerous instances of initiatives directly benefiting the sector, including: concluding a softwood lumber agreement, restoring access to the U.S. market and resulting in the return of over $5 billion in duty deposits to Canadian producers; investing $127.5 million in the forest industry long term competitiveness initiative to support innovation and assist the forestry sector to shift toward higher value products to tap into new markets; and, establishing a $25 million forest communities program that will assist forest based communities to make informed decision making on the forest land base.
Clearly, through those actions and budget 2008, this Conservative government is signalling its support for Canada's forestry sector.