Madam Chair, I have been a member of the House for 10 years, and I think this might be the first time I have heard our hon. colleague actually mention the word “softwood”, although he gets up time and time again every day.
It is interesting that the Liberals put up a member of Parliament from downtown Winnipeg, when really it is the smaller communities that are impacted, but he did have some facts straight; there are over 200,000 workers in the forestry industry, which is more than in auto, steel and aluminum combined. In our province of British Columbia, over 30 mills have closed, including 14 in my riding.
In 2015 the Liberals promised a softwood deal within 100 days of taking office. It has been more than 2,900 days. The Prime Minister says that it is not a burning issue and that it does not matter. My question for my hon. colleague is this: Will he fly to my riding and tell little Lucas from 100 Mile Elementary school that his parents, who lost their jobs, do not matter?