Mr. Speaker, I will begin by advising you that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue, a colleague who is very familiar with the softwood lumber and forestry file.
It is with great interest that I rise to speak here today on this Bloc Québécois opposition day to address an issue that is very important for Quebec, of course, and all of Canada. Naturally, I am referring to the forestry crisis we are seeing in many areas of Quebec, as well as the Conservative government's refusal to take action on the matter.
The motion we moved here today denounces the Conservatives' failure to act in this file, and particularly the vastly inadequate measures included in the last budget. The motion also proposes to the government a series of measures to help the forestry industry.
While the forestry crisis persists throughout Quebec, the Conservative government's recent budget revealed that it remains completely insensitive to the difficulties facing that industry and the communities that are affected. When will this government understand that its approach is simply unacceptable in the context of the current crisis and that it must immediately start listening to and working with forestry stakeholders to help this industry get though these tough times?
The Quebec forestry industry accounts for nearly 88,000 jobs in various sawmills and pulp and paper plants, or about a third of all Canadian jobs in this sector. The economies of some 230 towns and villages in Quebec are heavily dependent on it, and 160 of them are totally dependent. The forestry industry is going through a severe downturn that poses a grave threat to many of these communities. Just between May 2002 and April 2005, more than 10,000 jobs were lost in the Quebec forestry industry. Since April 2005, the situation has only grown worse, with more than 21,000 job losses in the Quebec forestry industry and related areas.
Left to its own devices during the softwood lumber dispute, when the federal government refused to provide it with the loan guarantees it needed to stay afloat, the forestry industry was unable to face the mounting value of the Canadian dollar at the time. Forestry companies lost their competitive advantage on foreign markets, especially in the United States. Now the Quebec forestry industry has to deal with a U.S. economy that is slowing rapidly and is in crisis, resulting in a major reduction in timber sales and collapsing prices.
It may also be faced with surge in protectionist sentiment in the United States, which would further undermine sales south of the border. I recently attended the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington. I had an opportunity to discuss some pressing issues, such as the trade in softwood lumber we are currently debating, with a number of U.S. governors and congressmen. We were told that some senators and governors from southern states were critical of U.S. imports of Canadian softwood lumber and were asking the American President “to take whatever action is necessary to fully address Canadian unfair trade practices in the softwood lumber sector”.
Even if these approaches to the American President are politically motivated, I think we need to be very vigilant. They show that there is a definite protectionist trend in the United States. As I was saying before, there is a major crisis in the forestry industry in Quebec and urgent action is needed at least to mitigate its effects. The government does not seem to understand this and is being negligent in providing assistance in its last budget that is not nearly enough, and I would even say, that is shameful and insulting.
With the support of the Liberals, the Conservative government provided the forestry sector with no more than a mere $170 million in its last budget. That is a disgrace. At the same time it decided, with the support of the Liberals and the Conservative members from Quebec, to invest more than $2.7 billion to support the automobile industry in Ontario. We are not opposed to this, but we think that the Quebec forestry industry is just as important, and even more important in terms of jobs. In the opinion even of the Québec Forest Industry Council, the $170 million that was announced over two years is far from enough and hardly reflects the needs flowing from the crisis in the Quebec forestry industry.
The Conservatives and the Liberals are showing their contempt for this industry which is the lifeblood for many Quebec regions. However, the Bloc Québécois is proposing a series of measures to support our forestry companies: loan guarantees for the purchase of more efficient production equipment; massive investments or tax measures to promote innovation; R and D for the industry; making the R and D tax credit refundable so that companies not turning a profit can innovate and develop new products.
In addition, it is important to mention that none of these measures contravenes the softwood lumber agreement, no matter what the Conservative minister says. For weeks, the Bloc Québécois has been asking the government and its Quebec ministers which section of the softwood lumber agreement prevents the federal government from providing loans and loan guarantees to the Quebec forestry industry. This government does not have an answer and chooses to ignore us. No one in the government, including the Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec) can quote the section in NAFTA or in the softwood lumber agreement.
Why? Because the agreement does not prohibit the use of loan guarantees. This position is shared by the Quebec Forest Industry Council and the Government of Quebec, which allowed Investissement Québec to provide guarantees.
The position of the Conservative government, including the Quebec MPs, only shows that it prefers to bow down to the U.S. protectionist lobbies that complain about the smallest initiative that will help the forestry sector. But above all, it proves that this government does not want to help Quebec's industry. During this time, what have Quebec Conservatives done? They have remained silent and have refused to stand up for Quebec.
In closing, this motion addresses the needs of the forestry industry and the communities that are dependent on it. For that reason I am asking that all members, especially Quebec members, support this motion.