Madam Speaker, it is impossible to overstate the importance of the softwood lumber industry to our country, the Canadian economy, and the many communities that depend upon it. There are more than 600 softwood lumber mills in Canada. Many of them are in remote or indigenous areas and communities, including in my riding of Surrey Centre. In fact, I am told that my riding has among the most softwood lumber employees in the country. A lot of these mills are family-owned, and some of them are particularly small and vulnerable operations. Together, these mills are a major employer, providing jobs for some 38,000 Canadians, along with another 32,000 jobs for those working in the forestry and logging operations at the core of timber supply. The result is that last year, Canada's softwood lumber industry generated more than $10 billion in exports, more than three quarters of which were sold south of the border.
When my father Mohan Singh Sarai arrived here to make Canada his home so many years ago, he arrived in British Columbia, which was home to a thriving and vibrant forestry sector. My father found well-paying employment in several lumber mills, from Boston Bar to New Westminster. Later on, my brothers Par, Raj, and Paul; many cousins; and several uncles all found work in sawmills. In fact, I even married the daughter of a sawmill worker from Fort St. James. My family story is not unique. It is the story of tens of thousands of families who make their home in British Columbia and in many regions across Canada.
The member opposite is right to be concerned that the U.S. Department of Commerce, decided earlier this year to impose anti-dumping tariffs and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber, totalling an average of 26.75%. For the hardest hit, those tariffs and duties climbed almost 31%. That is simply unsustainable.
The countervailing duties, which average just a fraction under 20%, expired at the end of August. The U.S. has indicated that it will render its final decision on them by mid-November. That is why our government plans to continue fighting vigorously for the softwood lumber industry and those whose livelihoods depend on it, including through litigation, if need be. This is the fifth time that Canada has had to defend its softwood lumber industry against U.S. claims in the last 35 years. Independent trade panels have repeatedly found U.S. claims to be baseless. We have prevailed in the past, and we will do so again.
Unfortunately, the motion before us, however well intended, is flawed in two key ways with respect to softwood lumber. First, it accuses our government of failing to negotiate a new deal on softwood lumber with the United States. If the member for Richmond—Arthabaska is suggesting with his motion that we should just accept any terms with the United States for the sake of a negotiated settlement, then he is simply wrong.
We do not want just any deal for Canada's softwood lumber; we want the right deal. We want a durable and equitable solution that is fair to softwood producers, downstream industries, and consumers on both sides of the border, nothing more, nothing less. We continue to work toward that end, which is why the motion before us is also flawed in suggesting that the softwood lumber file is not a priority of our government.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of International Trade speak regularly with their American counterparts in an effort to solve this impasse on softwood lumber. In the meantime, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to Canada's softwood lumber industry in the most powerful way possible, by stepping up to the plate for its workers and their vulnerable communities with an $860 million softwood lumber action plan.
I would like to highlight some of these measures. Under our plan, the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada have made a combined $605 million in financial products and services available on commercial terms to help viable companies make capital investments and diversify into new markets. There is also more than $160 million to help the Canadian forest industry expand both its product lines and market opportunities.
As well, we continue to work with the provinces to ensure that affected workers have the support and adjustment services they need and deserve. This includes almost $90 million in new funding to extend work-sharing opportunities to help companies retain their employees and assist affected workers who are upgrading their skills for jobs in other fields. Finally, there is $10 million for the indigenous forestry initiative to help indigenous communities pursue economic opportunities in the forest sector. This is real action. It is meaningful support and reflects the priorities we have placed on an industry that has helped to shape our country and define our people.
This motion fails to recognize any of that, but I am pleased to note that Canada's softwood lumber producers, their workers and communities, are appreciative of our efforts. Look at some of the media coverage our action plan has earned, headlines such as, “Forestry Industry Embraces Canada's Nearly $870M in Softwood Aid”, or comments such as this one from New Brunswick's softwood lumber association, “We appreciate the federal government's focus on this issue.” The British Columbia Lumber Trade Council has said that everything we can do to expand markets for our products around the globe helps us decrease our reliance on the U.S. market. We agree.
That is why the Minister of International Trade was in China in the spring to promote the use of Canadian wood in home construction while his parliamentary secretary travelled to Vietnam, Singapore, and Brunei to pursue new export opportunities for Canada's forestry sector. That is why the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development has been in the U.K. and mainland Europe to sell Canadian wood and wood products and why the Minister of Foreign Affairs followed up on those efforts with her own trip to Europe. That is why the Minister of Natural Resources recently renewed a memorandum of understanding with China to use Canadian wood in sustainable eco cities.
Our efforts and industry's resilience have us headed in the right direction. Together we are going to ensure that Canada's softwood lumber industry emerges stronger on the other side of this. In fact, it is already happening. As the Minister of Natural Resources has previously indicated, the uptake of our softwood lumber action plan has been limited to date as Canadian producers continue to find ways to overcome this unwarranted trade action by our neighbour. It also helps that softwood lumber prices are currently well above their 52-week highs.
It does not mean we can let our guard down. There have been some mill closures and job losses. Even one job is one too many, so we will continue to work closely with the industry, provinces, and communities. We believe that the long-term future of Canada's forest sector is bright, built on some of the world's leading sustainable forestry practices, ongoing technological advancements, and a global urgency for wood and wood products that can help lead in the fight against climate change. Today's motion is remarkably silent on many of these fronts, and I will not be supporting it.