Mr. Speaker, the Canadian softwood lumber producers have already paid $9 billion more because of the excess tariffs since 2017. Do we know what else they pay? They pay the carbon tax. The carbon tax costs hundreds of millions of dollars more, which makes it uncompetitive to the U.S. industry.
Do we know what the irony is? The industry plants trees. Last year alone, it planted 440 million trees, while the government's two-billion tree program barely got off the ground.
Is it not time for a new, competent minister who is going to axe the tax, stand up for Canadians and fight for the 400,000 jobs in the forestry sector?