Mr. Speaker, after a year of competing with the heavily subsidized U.S. forest industry, Canadian companies have finally received some funding for environmental upgrades. However, this comes with a string attached. It has very strict short-term deadlines to spend the money.
Similarly, the City of Rossland recently received federal funding to fix its arena roof. This money must be spent by March 31, 2010, in an area that receives over 20 feet of snow per year, increasing the winter costs by 20%.
Why is the government imposing ridiculous deadlines instead of working with industry and communities to look at long-term, practical solutions?