House of Commons Hansard #91 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was deal.

Topics

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:40 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by offering some comments about the hard-working United Steelworkers in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. My riding is home to two Western Forest Products mills, one in Cowichan Bay and one in Chemainus. Also many residents in my riding work in several mills to the riding north of mine, the riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

Forestry traditionally has been a big part of my riding. It is a big part of Vancouver Island's history and many communities had their start precisely because of that industry. I want to express some sympathy to our trade negotiators. The political climate of the United States in the middle of an election cycle means protectionism is very high. That being said, the Liberal government has now been in power for one year and surely the Department of International Trade could have foreseen what the political climate was going to be like.

For the parliamentary secretary, with the year the department has had, what has been the detailed version of plan B that the government has come up with pending a worst case scenario? That is what the companies and workers in my riding want to hear. What are the plans for a worst case scenario? Companies want that certainty.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:40 p.m.

Liberal

David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC

Mr. Speaker, I certainly share the member's concern for his constituents. I grew up in a small town in Ontario that had a lot of Steelworkers as well, in this case working for Inco. I also understand there are forestry industries across the country including paper interests in my own riding, so even in urban ridings we are in some ways strongly linked to the forestry industry. In any event, we govern for everyone and we have to take everyone's concerns into primary account.

The plan B is, as the minister said earlier, a double track process where we are prepared to defend our interests in front of trade tribunals. It is not the best case scenario but that is what we had to do, the Liberal governments under Paul Martin and Jean Chrétien, in order to get rulings from the WTO and NAFTA last time around. That is the plan this time and we will keep every single option open moving forward in order to help Canadian workers.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:40 p.m.

Conservative

Kevin Sorenson Conservative Battle River—Crowfoot, AB

Mr. Speaker, I listened quite intently to the parliamentary secretary's speech. I must say I was disappointed with it. We are speaking of an industry that hundreds, if not thousands and thousands of jobs are dependent on. It is a massive industry, yet he tells Canadians that they should not worry about it too much, that our Prime Minister was invited to a dinner with the President and he was able to take his family there, and we had the President back here and he spoke in Parliament and we have never seen this before. Well, if that is what Canadians are to take some solace in, given how the United States negotiates, we are in trouble.

In 2002 and 2003 with the Chrétien and Paul Martin governments, they did not get the job done. There were 27% tariffs put on Canadian softwood lumber. In 2006 we had an agreement, but it has run out now.

We know the Liberals want a good deal, we want a good deal, but what can the parliamentary secretary give us for a timeline? What can he tell Canadians today, in spite of the economy going down and job losses in every other sector, to give them some confidence?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Liberal

David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC

Mr. Speaker, I regret that the member missed the gist of my speech, which was to say to Canadians that we are fighting on all levels to negotiate but also to prepare ourselves for litigation, if necessary. Why? Because we are fighting for their interests. As numerous people on all sides of the House have pointed out, we need to have an agreement that is fair and equitable. There is no point accepting an agreement that will cost Canadians jobs and that will destroy our industry.

The fact of the matter is that it takes two sides to negotiate. It is easy to criticize the government, but we have a negotiating partner and we have created the context in which we can negotiate. However, there is still a gap and the American negotiating position is still not where we want it. It is not yet acceptable.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Casey Liberal Cumberland—Colchester, NS

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to say that the softwood lumber industry in Atlantic Canada is extremely important to our economy. As the parliamentary secretary said earlier, this is all about forest management practices. I know he and his colleagues are working very hard on this, but I have been through several of these and they are all complicated.

Over the last 20 years, the American industry has acknowledged that Atlantic Canadian provinces have forestry practices exactly like theirs and because of that they have provided a total exclusion for all the Atlantic provinces on this softwood lumber agreement. We have not been part of it. In fact, the second last agreement had three signatures on it: the Canadian government, the U.S. government, and the Maritime Lumber Bureau. Considering how important it is to Atlantic Canada that we maintain this total exclusion, can the parliamentary secretary tell us whether an exclusion will be part of the next agreement?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Liberal

David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his work on this file over the years and for his question.

Indeed, as I said in my speech, we have had an unprecedented degree of consultation across the country. We understand the various regional nuances across the country and they have formed an integral part of our negotiating strategy, such as is the case here. We are trying to renew, under the best case scenario, that exclusion once again.

We have listened. We have been close to the industry and workers. We have an idea of what our minimum position is, and that is hopefully where we will get to.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, would the member opposite tell the House what concrete steps the government is taking to have litigation suspended during the negotiation process?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Liberal

David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC

Mr. Speaker, at this stage, the first step of the litigation process would be in the hands of the American industry, as to whether it would want an inquiry in the U.S. Department of Commerce. That has yet to happen. We have a strategy. If and when that does happen we would react, but at this stage it has yet to happen. We will look at all other options in order to help Canadian forestry workers and the Canadian industry along the way.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

NDP

Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague across the aisle.

The people of Longueuil—Saint-Hubert certainly know from reading the newspaper that panic is starting to set in. People are worried and are scratching their heads, wondering how we could have reached this point, in a society as structured as ours. The Liberals have been in power for a year now. When they first took office, they knew, just as all parties knew during the election campaign, that the softwood lumber deal was about to expire, so they have had a year as a sort of “buffer” to negotiate.

Why has so little been achieved after all this time? What happened at the end of 2015? Had there been any progress at all? I am trying to give my colleagues opposite an out. Had the Conservatives begun any work on this?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:45 p.m.

Liberal

David Lametti Liberal LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question.

The answer is no, as the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean admitted. The Conservatives discussed it among themselves. However, they never communicated with our American friends before October 12 of last year.

Our government took over. We had many rounds of negotiations: there were 16 rounds in one year. That is quite something for negotiating teams. There have been several meetings between the minister and her counterpart, two meetings between the President and the Prime Minister, and many phone calls to people throughout North America.

We took over enthusiastically. It is a difficult process that has many challenges. However, we are working very hard and we will continue to work very hard to protect Canadians' interests.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

4:50 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa.

As the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I am pleased to represent the thousands of Canadians, both in my riding of eastern Ontario and in northern Ontario, who make a living in the working forest. Of the many issues I have championed for Canadians as a member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, defending Canada's forestry industry was one of my first responsibilities when I was elected six elections ago. As a member of my party's softwood lumber task force, I am not pleased that I am still talking about some of the same issues regarding softwood lumber after 16 years.

It was our Conservative government that negotiated an agreement by the end of April 2006, within three months of coming into office, to solve the last softwood lumber dispute. As a member of the government that signed the current agreement that expired on October 12, 2015, I recognize there were critics of that agreement, just as there were critics, like myself, of the previous agreement that had been negotiated by the old Chrétien administration.

Our government recognized that signing a deal that would satisfy everyone would have resulted in no deal, which was unacceptable, just as no deal today is unacceptable. Too many Canadian jobs are at risk. The softwood lumber industry in my riding is characterized by small operations, many family owned, and by people who depend on jobs from the working forest.

When I was first elected, the old Chrétien government softwood lumber policy was causing significant unemployment in my riding. Worried softwood lumber producers called my office on a regular basis with the hope that a resolution regarding the softwood lumber dispute was over. History is about to repeat itself if Canadians do not see action today.

Forestry contributes $20 billion to Canada's GDP. The forestry sector generates approximately 370,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada. Winter is coming. Families with their principal breadwinner employed in the forestry industry wonder how they will survive this winter as they wait for this administration to act.

Since the last agreement was signed by our Conservative government, things have changed. The Liberal Party is making it a lot tougher to live in rural Canada and places like eastern Ontario where these jobs exist. Skyrocketing hydroelectricity rates, the plan to ban the burning of firewood for heat, and a carbon tax that would add 10¢ a litre on the only means of transportation for rural Canadians spells hard times. If times are tough when they have a job, imagine how tough it is going to be when they have no job, with all these new Liberal taxes.

In rural areas, jobs are hard to come by. Ben Hokum & Son Limited in Killaloe, Murray Brothers in Madawaska, McRae Lumber in Whitney, Lavern Heideman & Sons in Eganville, Gulick Forest Products Ltd., Randy Commanda Forestry at Pikwakanagan, Thomas J. Neuman Ltd., Pastway Planing in Palmer Rapids, and Bell Lumber in Renfrew are just a few of the businesses in my riding that will be affected by no new softwood lumber agreement. For Canada's forestry industry, for the people employed in that industry, and for the businesses that provide that employment that need certainty in their business if they are to continue to invest in their businesses and create jobs, an agreement is critical.

The nine year agreement, which outlined tariffs and guidelines for the lumber trade between Canada and the U.S., has expired. The one year standstill period, negotiated by our Conservative government when in power, has now expired as well, with no free trade solution and no sign that an agreement is on the horizon.

American producers allege the Canadian forestry industry is subsidized by the federal and provincial governments. In the U.S., prices are set by the market, a situation that the U.S. contends is unfair compared to the way Canada manages its forests. It believes Canadian lumber should be subject to a tariff to offset the so-called subsidy. In the past, the U.S. has introduced anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations against Canadian softwood lumber. Canada has successfully defended itself against those actions.

In Canada, 94% of the forest is on public lands. By law, all forest harvested on public lands must be regenerated. All harvested trees are regrown. At 161 million hectares or 43%, Canada has the highest volume of independently assessed, certified, sustainably managed forests in the world.

Canada's forest companies work with environmental groups, like Ducks Unlimited Canada, Pollution Probe, Nature Canada, and the Prime Minister's principal secretary's favourite, World Wildlife Fund.

The working forest benefits the aboriginal community in my riding. About 70% of aboriginal communities are located in forested areas. Forest companies are one of the largest employers of aboriginal people. Far more forest is damaged by fire and insects, compared to the sustainable harvest that takes place in Canada. Canadian mills are cleaner and greener.

What Canadians need is a lasting solution to ensure fair treatment of the Canadian lumber industry. For Ontario, trade with the United States is significant for the forestry industry. While up to 95% of Ontario's forestry products exports go to the United States, Ontario's share of the U.S. market equates to 3.34%. A producer in Ontario is selling domestically or to the United States.

Jobs have been disappearing at an alarming rate in rural Ontario. The need to keep jobs in the lumber industry to maintain our way of life is paramount. Forestry is big business in Ontario, exporting $3.6 billion worth of goods annually, and employing over 43,000 people, many of whom work in eastern Ontario.

Wages and salaries add up to almost $2 billion in the Ontario economy. In the Ottawa Valley, the forest industry supports thousands of jobs. Primary wood manufacturing in my riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke is over 10 times the provincial average. I can identify over 100 forest product companies that make their home in Renfrew county. The Canadian forest products industry is a major manufacturing sector, responsible for 12% of Canada's manufacturing GDP.

What is also important in this debate over softwood lumber is how it is affecting our trading relationship with the United States. For value-added products, the United States market is number one in Ontario. More than half of all forest products in Ontario are exported. Members will understand why we, on this side of the House, use the term “crisis” when we refer to the state of the Canadian softwood lumber industry. Those products have the largest export market in the United States. Exports from Ontario have increased by more than 100% since 1991.

The United States construction industry is worth nearly $700 billion U.S. every year. It will continue to be the focus of Canadian wood product shipments. It is imperative that the government respect the special trading relationship we have had in the past and prioritize the need to resolve this trade dispute. The time is now to see if all the toadying up to the current U.S. President by the Prime Minister will make any difference. It is clear that whoever is the next president of the U.S. is bad news for Canadians. A new president means any negotiations go back to zero.

It is clear a softwood lumber crisis must be avoided. We all knew the softwood lumber agreement was expiring last week. If the current administration is paying the slightest attention, it will know the American lumber industry will push for punitive measures. Ontario lumber mills have continued to invest in their operations, and they are disappointed at the lack of government support for the industry. They need access to the U.S. market. They are looking for a more aggressive position by the Canadian and Ontario governments to ensure Ontario gets its fair share of employment.

The time has come to stand up for Canadian jobs.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5 p.m.

Liberal

Arnold Chan Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have listened with interest to the comments of members of the official opposition with respect to this motion. I want to pose a simple question for the hon. member.

It is easy to criticize the current progress with respect to negotiations on a softwood lumber agreement, but does my friend have an actual set of concrete suggestions that she could provide to this side of the House, to the minister and the parliamentary secretary on what would be an acceptable framework for such an agreement?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, months ago I began meeting with my forestry products people as well as mill owners. For Eastern Ontario in particular, there is a number of provisions they would like to have made, specifically, exclusions. When the original softwood lumber agreement was negotiated, a number of different species was included that never should have been. They are specialty woods, not building wood. For example, eastern cedar should not be included. It is a speciality wood. Red and white pine, and hemlock should not be included. This is just one of a few of the important features that we would like to see built into the agreement being negotiated now.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Mr. Speaker, I am glad we have had this day to focus on softwood lumber.

I wonder if the member could highlight what it means to individuals and families not only in her riding but in the whole of Ontario of not having an agreement in place and what it would mean to them if we lost access to the U.S. market.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, at one time the forestry industry in my riding was the largest employer. Now we are down to about 8,000 jobs in the riding. The whole area along the Ottawa River was originally settled around the lumber industry. There are no other jobs for people to go to in rural Eastern Ontario. The Liberal government has not given any priority to expanding broadband Internet to rural areas and there is a huge broadband and cellphone gap in my riding. We cannot get those high-tech jobs.

Right now, the increased price of electricity is really tough on the lumber industry. The greatest and growing input cost is electricity.

It is tough to get the product across the border into the U.S. market. With the looming carbon tax adding at least another 10%, it will be untenable. More people will be out of work. More people will be hungry. More people will become dependent on other people.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5 p.m.

NDP

Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Salaberry—Suroît, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague whether, during this conflict or this potential trade war over softwood lumber between Canada and the United States, she agrees that the government should provide more support to the forestry industry than the Conservatives did at the time.

Under the Conservatives, there was a lawsuit that resulted in a $1-billion loss to the industry. Even though Canada eventually won in court, the industry paid the price.

Should the Liberals have a plan B in the current negotiations to ensure this does not happen again and to protect the 300,000 Canadian forestry workers?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

First and foremost, Mr. Speaker, while the negotiations are going on, the litigation must be suspended. As of yet, we have not heard today whether any effort has been made to stop the litigation while we are negotiating an agreement.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

Mr. Speaker, does the member feel there is any chance that the Liberals will get this job done, knowing how they folded and buckled with the Keystone pipeline despite the bromance between Obama and our Prime Minister? They completely walked away from that deal. Does the member feel this will happen on the softwood lumber agreement as well?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, I do not see any intention on the part of the government to put forward the interests of the softwood lumber industry whatsoever. In Ontario we have seen the Liberals keep on shrinking the footprint where we are allowed to lumber and increasing the input costs, including electricity, and now another tax. They do not want the softwood lumber industry to be prosperous. Rather, they want it to end.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak in favour of the critical motion before us regarding the lack of action by the Liberal government to secure a softwood lumber agreement.

It is conventional wisdom that the constituency of Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa is primarily an agricultural constituency. To a large extent that is true. However, in the northern part of my constituency I have significant forestry operations, such as spruce products. Louisiana-Pacific moved into the area some 25 years ago, creating 400 full-time jobs in an area where jobs were desperately required. Therefore, the forestry industry in my constituency is extremely important, and the issue across the country is too important for the Liberals to sit across the way, doing nothing, and putting the livelihood of so many Canadian families in my constituency and the rest of Canada in jeopardy.

The situation was possibly best summed up in a recent news article by Mr. Kevin Mason, managing director of ERA Forest Products Research, a Vancouver-based financial research company, who said, “It's going to be ugly. There’s going to be mill closures. It’s going to be messy.”

As many of us will remember, during the last dispute, over 15,000 jobs were lost in British Columbia alone, and the Canadian forest industry had to pay $4.5 billion in duties. With an economy facing sluggish growth to begin with and tax increases being posed by the Liberals, the lumber industry and the forestry industry in general need certainty and stability more than ever.

As has been said by previous speakers, this very important sector generates approximately 270,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada, often based in rural and remote areas where good, high paying jobs are often very hard to find. A mill that employs 250 people in a small town can be the centrepiece of a local community's economy, and a closure can be devastating.

As members know, the previous softwood lumber agreement expired on October 12, 2016, and the Liberal government has failed to negotiate a new one. In fact, it waited a year, which is astonishing. This means that U.S. lumber producers can and likely will file legal action immediately. It also means that the Canadian export market could be looking at 30% tariff increases very soon. This is a heavy hit to the bottom line of our lumber export companies and will undoubtedly lead to the suspension of production, job layoffs, and even mills shutting down completely, all because the Liberal government is unable or unwilling to make the economy of rural communities a priority. I will come back to that later on in my speech.

An agreement needs to be put in place that will stabilize the forestry sector in every region of Canada. However, due to the Liberal government inaction, the official opposition has launched a task force to petition those affected for their recommendations. We must bring the Canadian industry together to develop a common position in these negotiations instead of pitting one region against another. This task force will consult with forestry stakeholders, especially those communities whose major employer is tied to the forestry industry.

Many Liberals may not understand how important a mill is to a rural or remote community, as well as the spillover effect it has across an entire region or a country. Recently, the Manitoba forestry industry was thrown into crisis when the Tolko mill at The Pas was threatened with closure, and it came very close. There are very encouraging signs from the Conservative government in Manitoba, led by Premier Brian Pallister, that there is possibly a deal on the horizon that will save that particular mill.

What people do not realize is that the forestry industry is not just about a plant in a town. Rather, the ripple effects of the forestry industry go right across an entire region. Tolko was a paper mill. The paper industry and the lumber industry are intertwined. One might think the pending closure of a paper mill would not affect a lumber mill. However, what happens in the forestry sector is that when a lumber mill mills a tree, it takes the lumber from inside the tree, and the slabs on the outside, which are the finest fibres of a tree, and chips them and sends them to a paper mill. Therefore, the closure of a lumber mill or a paper mill can affect each other very significantly. The potential loss of the Tolko mill has the potential to kill 1,500 forestry jobs, even though that particular mill supports 300 direct jobs.

I had the honour of working for the Pine Falls Paper Company back in the mid 1990s. It was a wonderful success story, but also a story of failure. What happened in the early 1990s is that newsprint prices went down dramatically and that particular mill at Pine Falls was an Abitibi-Price mill. Many members here, especially from Quebec, would know the Abitibi-Price company. It was a newsprint-producing mill.

The mill was threatened with closure in the early 1990s, so the workers got together with the Conservative government of the day under premier Gary Filmon and the workers themselves bought the mill. They took a pay cut and entered into profit-sharing agreements. Right about that time, I left the employ of the provincial government and joined the Pine Falls Paper Company as the environmental director. Therefore, I have had first-hand experience in the forestry industry and got to live in a forestry town.

There has been a lot of talk in speeches about dollars and cents, trade law, lawyers, and so on, but what is forgotten is the human side of the forestry industry. What I learned when I lived in Pine Falls is that the forestry industry has a very definite culture. Those towns are different, they are special, and they are valuable. Because a major employer is in a town—in this particular case there were 500 full-time jobs—there are ball teams and hockey teams, Rotary Clubs, the churches are full, and there is a thriving society based around that particular mill.

As the 1990s wore on, newsprint was being replaced with iPads, people were reading newspapers on computers, and the demand for newsprint went down. What happened, which was inevitable, is that the mill was sold to a company called Tembec. Tembec then decided to make the mill even more efficient and instituted a process that some members may be familiar with, thermomechanical pulping.

A thermomechanical pulping mill goes hand in hand with a lumber mill, and Tembec had a plan to downsize the workforce at the paper mill and increase the workforce at the lumber mill. As I said earlier, paper production and lumber production go hand in hand. In the late 1990s, it looked like the Pine Falls paper mill and the associated lumber mill were going to have a very bright future. Then the U.S. action against our softwood lumber exports hit, and hit very hard. The mill converted to thermomechanical pulping, but the lumber mill was not economically viable any more. Actually, it was not even built. The plans were shelved and that particular mill was ultimately closed down.

By that time, I had left the mill, but I go back to that community from time to time. It is a tragic sight. I see the empty space, the size of two football fields, where a thriving paper mill used to be. The town is still a beautiful place, but there is a certain melancholy about the place. It is desolate. There is not the activity there used to be. This is the human cost of the loss of a major rural industry.

I am not really that interested in playing politics with this, though I am a politician and as partisan as everyone else. I would urge the Liberal members opposite to think about the people and culture of these communities and how important they are to our country. We all think Canada was founded by the fur trade, which, to a large extent, it was, but the forestry industry was equally important in creating this great country of ours.

In conclusion, I would also note, as the previous speaker said, that our forests are managed well and in an environmentally sound way. I managed a wastewater treatment plant at a paper mill. We know what we are doing in the forestry industry in Canada. We need to get a softwood lumber agreement in place, certainly for the jobs, the dollars and cents, but, as important, for the people and cultures of Canada's forestry communities.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments by the member opposite. We might have to disagree at times on approaches to dealing with this issue. I do genuinely believe that this government, virtually from day one, has been aware of the situation and has aggressively worked with the different stakeholders.

However, as opposed to focusing my attention on that, I want to pick up on another aspect of the member's speech. I believe whether they are talking about the province of Quebec, of British Columbia, of Ontario, or our home province in Manitoba, the member has hit it right on regarding the importance of this particular industry to many of our rural communities and to a way of life in our communities. The member referred to wanting to see an apolitical discussion on this issue.

May I just ask the member what he believes would be in the industry's best interest? Given the national election that is happening south of the border, is it not in Canada's best interest to continue to pursuing a path in which we do not sign a deal for the sake of having a deal, but to ensure that we have one that will ensure as much as possible the future prosperity of many of the communities that we truly believe in?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

Conservative

Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I got a bit carried away: let us not carry this apolitical stuff too far, but I appreciate my hon. friend's comments.

One thing that I think has not been done is to focus on the consumers of Canadian softwoods in the U.S. If the U.S. lumber producers get their way, the price of houses in the U.S. will go up. I would suspect that the construction industry in the U.S. wants Canadian lumber to continue flowing across the border. So again, looking at the customers and the benefits that the U.S. gets from the lumber it buys from us, I think that would be a very good first step.

Again, I appreciate the member's comments. We all care about these forestry communities. They are beautiful places to be and wonderful places to live. I should make the point again, as someone who has spent an entire career in environmental conservation, that as was mentioned earlier, the conservation activities of Canada's forestry companies are second to none in the world. We have a world-class industry.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:15 p.m.

NDP

Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech.

It is close to the end of the day and some people may think that everything has been said. However, I am still amazed to hear some of the things members are saying. It is not a very high level of debate when someone says that we should not sign a deal for the sake of having a deal.

That is a given. That is such a basic thing to say. Given all the jobs that are at stake and the scope of our trade partnerships with the United States, that goes without saying. Obviously, we need a deal that makes sense.

I am therefore pleased to know that our party supports the Conservative Party's motion, but I would like to ask my colleague a question. Is it not true that, under the Conservative government, we had to go to court on several occasions and that we won? Did that not make the forestry industry lose billions of dollars?

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:20 p.m.

Conservative

Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the style of agreement that ultimately comes out of this, I am made aware of one of the political rules: the perfect is the enemy of the good. I think I would be happy with a good agreement. I hope that the government is not insisting on perfection here. Trade and trade negotiations are all about give and take. Unfortunately, in Canada with our geographic location and our proximity to the U.S., we are in many cases at the mercy of the U.S. We should ensure that world trade rules are abided by, and unfortunately the U.S. has a habit of flouting those trade rules, which is very unfortunate.

Again, I would urge the Liberal government to work very hard. We have not seen much in the last year. I was proud of our government's track record on this particular file, but again the importance of forestry to many rural communities in my constituency and across the country needs to be recognized by the current government.

Opposition Motion—Softwood Lumber AgreementBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

5:20 p.m.

Liberal

Rémi Massé Liberal Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for New Brunswick Southwest.

The negotiation of a new softwood lumber agreement with the United States that satisfies all of Canada's interests is one of the priorities of the Prime Minister and our government. The forestry industry is very important to the economic well-being of our country, including that of Quebec. The Government of Canada is well aware of the vital role that the softwood lumber industry plays in that province.

That is why the Minister of International Trade and her parliamentary secretary have been working closely with the Government of Quebec and the industry in that province since they accepted responsibility for this portfolio last November. The relationship between Canada and the United States is essential to a prosperous economy in all of the provinces and territories, including Quebec. Canada is and will remain a trading nation.

In that regard, Canada's relationship with the United States is a priority. The current government has placed particular emphasis on restoring Canada's relationship with the United States, an important and strategic relationship that has deteriorated over the past decade. It is therefore also essential to improve the tenor and tone of the bilateral agreement with the United States in order to find a solution to the softwood lumber issue.

The United States remains by far the largest export market for Canada and Quebec's softwood lumber products. In the past fiscal year, softwood lumber exports rose to $6 billion, representing 69% of Canadian exports.

At the end of the day, together with Quebec, the other provinces and territories, Canada has every intention of finding a lasting and equitable solution that is beneficial to softwood lumber producers across the country, as well as to related industries and consumers.

Our government fully understands what is at stake for the forestry industry. The forestry sector supports more than 84,800 direct and indirect jobs within Quebec communities. These jobs are mostly in rural communities and provide a vital economic foundation for these regions. In 2015, the volume of softwood lumber exports from Quebec represented 20.6% of Canadian softwood lumber exports to the United States, or roughly $1 billion.

Our government recognizes that the softwood lumber issue affects the success of an entire sector of the economy. Quebec's softwood lumber industry is a major contributor to the forestry sector in general. Sawmills provide essential inputs such as pulp and wood chips for the downstream production of other forestry sector products such as boards, paper, and the wood pellets needed for bioenergy production.

Entrepreneurs and businesses that operate in rural regions like mine, including for example the regional municipalities of Avignon, Mitis, Matane, and Matapédia, have developed innovative production methods in recent years. These businesses are the pride of their regions, and they need support to protect their markets in order to stay on track and continue to prosper.

The next chapter of this story will have a direct impact on the entire forestry sector in Quebec and in all regions of Canada. That is why the government is working so hard to reach a new softwood lumber deal that will guarantee forestry workers, as well as communities across Quebec and across Canada, a reliable, stable future.

The Minister of International Trade and officials from Global Affairs Canada have consulted extensively with representatives from the Quebec softwood lumber industry and the Government of Quebec. Since last November, the minister has engaged her provincial counterparts several times, including most recently on October 4, when she had a meeting with Ms. Anglade, the Quebec minister for economy, science and innovation, and Mr. Blanchette, the Quebec minister for forests, wildlife and parks. Those ministers made Quebec's position very clear, so the federal government has a good understanding of what that province's forestry sector needs.

The Minister of International Trade also met with representatives of Quebec's softwood lumber industry and spoke directly to representatives of all forestry companies active in Quebec. On June 6, she met with members of the Quebec Forest Industry Council, which represents the Quebec forestry industry in general, to talk about priority issues for the province's industry that should inform any future softwood lumber agreement.

In addition to all this, there have been countless telephone calls, regular meetings, and ongoing discussions among Global Affairs Canada negotiators, Government of Quebec representatives, and Quebec industry stakeholders. Consultations have included meetings with Quebec Border Mills, the Fédération des producteurs forestiers du Québec, and many companies.

Our government recognizes that some Quebec industry stakeholders feel negotiation is not the best approach. They want the government to take the United States to court over free trade rather than negotiate a new agreement. We can understand why they would want to close ranks.

However, experience has taught us that a legal victory can be obtained only through considerable effort over many years during which Canada's industry would pay punitive tariffs. That is why the Minister of International Trade, at the Prime Minister's behest, is working very hard to negotiate an agreement that will satisfy lumber industry stakeholders across Canada.

Having said that, the government wants more than just an agreement. It wants to negotiate an agreement that will be good for Canada. The current government is prepared for anything and intends to fully defend Canada's interests if trade disputes occur once again. Just like the government's many in-depth consultations with the provinces, territories and other stakeholders in Canada, the consultations with Quebec have laid out the province's positions for negotiations with the United States. The Minister of International Trade and her representatives are very familiar with the issues that matter to each region, including Quebec. There will be close consultations as the softwood lumber file evolves.

The Conseil du patronat du Québec has congratulated us for all we have done to defend Quebec's forestry industry. The Quebec Forestry Industry Council says it is pleased with the current government's position on Quebec's forestry regime. The government worked closely with Quebec and will continue the dialogue as both parties move forward together.

The government paid particular attention to the reforms made by the Quebec government in 2013, which changed the softwood lumber pricing system to ensure that the value of timber from public forests is market based.

Throughout the discussions with the Minister of International Trade, the Government of Quebec and the province's industry made it clear how important it is for any future softwood lumber agreement to include a mechanism to take into account the changes made to its forestry practices.

The current government is also aware that a certain number of Quebec businesses were not included in the previous softwood lumber agreement under the pretext that the U.S. Department of Commerce did not consider them, individually, to be subsidized.

That is why our government ensured that, in the joint statement on softwood lumber last June, the Prime Minister and President Obama stated that the key aspects of any new softwood lumber agreement would include provisions on excluding businesses as well as provisions promoting regional policies that eliminate the underlying causes of trade frictions, including a regional exit process that is appropriate, effective, and timely. The Government of Canada has made these issues priorities in the ongoing negotiations.

The Government of Quebec and Quebec's industry have clearly expressed where their interests lie in a new agreement. The current government, our government, listened to what they had to say. The Prime Minister and the Minister of International Trade will continue to emphasize these key aspects as the Minister of International Trade pursues her negotiations with the United States.

Our government is defending and will continue to defend the interests of Quebec's industry and Canada's industry, as well as all the workers who actively contribute to the economic development of our region, of Quebec, and of Canada.