Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more. It was not a disaster, it was a catastrophe.
From 2005 to 2011, Quebec's forestry sector shrank by 30%, yet the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party did nothing. As I was saying earlier on, Canada relies on two economic pillars: oil and gas. As we saw, the leader of the official opposition used a quarter of his speaking time to crow about energy and new LNG projects. At a time when American surtaxes are all the talk, this seems rather surprising. If I heard him talk about softwood lumber, it was in answer to a question I had asked him.
My colleague is absolutely right. The forestry sector in Quebec has been completely demolished, and the federal government has washed its hands of it.