Mr. Chair, in my previous answer, I was referring to the comments of Avrim Lazar, the head of the Forest Products Association of Canada. Here is what he said:
We don't want subsidies; we don't want bailouts...long experience will tell everybody it simply doesn't work that way..... So no bail-outs, no subsidies. But there is stuff you can do that's positive and constructive.... The [Conservative] government has done many, many positive things in the past, and we're looking forward to many, many positive things in the future.
What have we done? We have provided over $1 billion in tax relief to the forestry industry by 2012-13. There is the $1 billion community development trust. As the member knows, that money is for workers and for communities directly affected. There is $160 million for the targeted initiative for older workers. There is $200 million with respect to the mountain pine beetle infestation in B.C. and Alberta, so far. There is $127.5 million for the forest industry long term competitiveness support. There is $25 million for the forest communities program to assist 11 forest based communities make informed decisions on the forest land base. We secured the return of over $5 billion in duty deposits to Canadian producers by implementing the softwood lumber agreement in October 2006. A lot has been done.
If the member is advocating one time band-aid bailouts, that is not the policy of this government; that is not the way to go.