Madam Speaker, my colleague is a fellow British Columbian, and I know he understands the very desperate state of British Columbia's forest industry. The region I represent has lost numerous sawmills over the past several years. Across British Columbia there have been many more. The current softwood lumber dispute with the United States is a worrisome contributing factor to the downfall of the forest industry.
When the softwood lumber agreement and the softwood lumber dispute are raised in the House, often we hear platitudes and rhetoric along the lines of taking the issue very seriously and working in a concerted manner. We rarely hear unique and new strategies for actually addressing and resolving the dispute with the Americans.
What ideas does the Liberal government have for resolving the dispute? We hear that it is a priority for it, yet we do not see very much progress in terms of resolving it. What ideas and strategies can be brought to the fore?