Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague, the international trade critic for the Liberal Party. I had wondered why the Liberals were going ahead with their motion, because Mr. Obama had announced that the United States would comply with WTO rules and international standards. But I soon realized that the motion was still relevant because it says that “this House calls upon the Government to intervene forthwith and persistently” and urge the United States to respect the trade agreements between it and Canada, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization. The Liberals realized that Canada might have to go to court, whereas now we can take diplomatic action. We saw this in the softwood lumber sector. The Liberal and Conservative governments went through that. Time is of the essence, and the government must take strong action.
In the House of Commons on February 5th, 2009. See this statement in context.