Madam Speaker, less than a week after the Prime Minister went to Washington to meet with President Biden, the U.S. announced that it would be doubling tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. The Prime Minister was also unable to win concessions on agriculture, pipelines, threats to our auto industry and, really broadly, the U.S. administration's damaging buy American policies. This has raised serious questions about the ability of the government to negotiate with our closest ally.
American protectionism continues to be a threat to Canadian industry and puts jobs at risk in the Kenora riding, across northern Ontario and across the country. The U.S. is Canada's largest trading partner, and we need a government and Prime Minister who are able to ensure that our workers and industries are being treated fairly.
More than that, these are people's lives. These people may not know where their next paycheque is coming from or are consistently stressed with the potential threat of layoffs and job losses. These people and their families need reassurance that the government has their backs, and they need concrete results to continue making a living.
Last week in question period, I pressed the government on its inability to work effectively with the U.S. and received a very unsatisfactory response from the minister. Frankly, it will reassure nobody in the Kenora riding or across northern Ontario.
In response to other questions, including in the take-note debate that we had, the minister has been unable to tell the House how many negotiations the Liberals have had with the U.S. trade representative. They have been unable to really state broadly what their plan is to end this dispute. They have also been unable to talk about what retaliatory measures, if any, the government plans to take or what the path forward will be on rebuilding what is very clearly a damaged relationship with the U.S. administration.
Previously in this chamber, the Minister of International Trade said that the government has done a good job on the file, and I believe that just shows how truly disconnected the government is from what is going on on the ground.
Workers in my riding and across the country need to know the answers to the questions that I have laid out. I hope that someone on the government side is able to answer them tonight.