Madam Chair, I rise in the House this evening with a great deal of pride and respect to represent and speak on behalf of the people in my riding, the workers, entrepreneurs and businesses that have been struggling for far too long.
In my region, in the Lower St. Lawrence, in Rimouski-Neigette, in La Mitis and in La Matapédia, the forestry industry is our lifeblood, just as it is for Les Basques, whose residents I salute.
We have to remember one thing. When the industry gets brushed aside and does not get support, the whole region suffers. This directly and indirectly hurts the area's entire economy.
I would like my colleague to tell me in concrete terms how the government can claim to be protecting our regions when it allows the United States to impose a 45% tax. That amounts to $10 billion in illegitimate tariffs. Furthermore, it refuses to implement the one measure that could immediately save jobs, which is to buy back half of the countervailing duties.
Why is the government abandoning our workers when Washington has been acting in bad faith for the past 40 years?