Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. minister wants to hear the points I am making and I am sure that he will settle down and listen quietly.
The announcement of the $1 billion community development fund that she made in Sydney looked suspiciously like the same announcement made a year earlier. That is not good enough.
Instead of investing in a stimulus package over a year ago, the Conservatives sat on that $4.6 billion, that I mentioned earlier, that was approved in the 2007 budget for this current fiscal year that ends at the end of this month. Canadians cannot understand why the government was so incompetent that it spent less than $1 billion of that money, especially if, as it claimed, it foresaw all these economic problems. How is that possible? It certainly makes no sense to me and I am sure my hon. colleagues on this side of the House would agree.
In New Brunswick, there is a shovel-ready project that could put 400 people to work for a nominal cost. It is called silviculture. The New Brunswick Forest Products Association has made a request to the federal government but still has not received a decision from Ottawa. The association hopes that someone in the government across the way recognizes that this is important for an industry that has endured thousands of job losses in the past three years. It is warning all of us that time is running out to get that money flowing for the 2009 planting season. I do hope that someone in the Department of Natural Resources or in the government is listening, and that they will get moving on this request and others from across the country.
Is it any wonder that people do not trust the Conservative government when we hear of things like that? The latest performance report for natural resources shows the Conservatives have a history of not getting the job done that goes well beyond its infrastructure investments or the lack thereof.
The NRCan performance report states that “funding for the Forest Industry Long Term Competitiveness Initiative in the amount of $10.4 million was deferred for future year spending”.
That is a little hard to imagine. I was just talking about, and we heard it earlier today, what is happening in the forestry industry. The recent economic problems have added to it, but it is not a brand new problem. There have been problems and difficulties in the forestry industry for the past number of years, and yet here we see that the government, rather than using the money that it has allocated and promised to use to support the industry, has put it off for later. What the heck is that about? How is that competent management of the industry or of our economy? Why would any competent government defer spending on an industry that was obviously facing severe challenges?
I believe this speaks volumes about the government's lack of commitment to a vital sector of our economy and the thousands of families who keep asking why the government has abandoned them in their hour of need. As I said earlier, it is no wonder that Canadians do not trust the government.
Unfortunately, Canadian forestry workers, whether they live in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia or elsewhere, are the ones suffering as a result of a government that failed to invest in their futures, that failed to understand the importance of research and development, and a government that negotiated a sellout softwood lumber deal, about which my colleague from Westmount—Ville-Marie will speak further.
The fallout from the Conservative softwood lumber sellout continues to plague the sector. Saw mills in four provinces are now subject to a 10% export tax. Even in the face of mill closures in Quebec and Ontario, the Conservatives refuse to admit this is a bad deal. Ontario companies will have to pay in excess of $68 million to meet the 10% export charge imposed because of bad decisions by the Conservatives. It is why we are here today.
Canadians know the Conservative government abandoned the forestry sector by not preparing the industry for the current economic downturn several years ago. In contrast, in November 2005, the Liberal government committed $1.5 million for the strength and sustainability of Canada's forestry industry. This strategy included new funding for workers, the industry, communities, long-term innovation, and provided immediate assistance as well.
I see my time is at an end. I look forward to comments and questions.