I thank the minister for his speech, Mr. Speaker.
I do not know whether he is aware that, in the Lac-Saint-Jean region alone, one of Canada’s 200 rural regions that rely on forestry, 12,000 jobs are at stake because of a dishonest government that was unable to negotiate a deal to protect our jobs in the forestry sector.
The hon. member for Jonquière asked dozens and dozens of questions; letters were written to the minister; unions and Quebec mayors, in particular from the Lac-Saint-Jean region, came here to tell the government how important this matter is.
Two mills in the Lac-Saint-Jean region are in danger because of the 18% countervailing duty, and others have been paying a 27% duty since the softwood lumber agreement was negotiated with the United States. This is outrageous.
This affects thousands of jobs and families. Some jobs have already been lost, while others are threatened. It is a very difficult issue. When the Conservatives negotiated, $1 billion and 134,000 jobs were lost. The government record in this regard has been abysmal for years. Everyone is saying how important this file is.
Why then is that not apparent in the government’s actions? How is it that so many jobs are at stake in a flourishing industry in which people are finding innovative ways of using waste lumber to manufacture other products and working to ensure the sustainability of our resources?
We are tired of empty rhetoric. We need to see some action. We need to stop seeing the industry unravel and jobs being lost.