House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 43% of the vote.
Pipelines May 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, we will ensure that any pipeline project would have to go through the National Energy Board, an arm's-length organization. However, I want to ensure the hon. member that any pipeline that is built will be in the interests of Canadians, made for Canadians, and so that Canadians will benefit from that pipeline construction.
Pipelines May 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government has a very clear position and it is very consistent with the American government. We do not provide subsidies for any pipeline project, whether it is the northern pipeline or the MacKenzie Delta pipeline. This is very consistent with the U.S. administration and is very consistent with our policy that we do not subsidize the development of pipelines in this country.
Softwood Lumber May 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I am very aware of some of the issues. I worked in a sawmill as a student. I know how much it means to the small communities. I know what it means to Canadians across the country. That is why we have $110 million and proposals now and we are working with the local communities to see how we can diversify, as well as having training programs.
We have been there. We are working to support them. We will continue to do that. If the opposition members have some ideas, instead of being bombastic and throwing their hands in the air, they should put constructive ideas forward so we can look at them.
Softwood Lumber May 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, in fact that is exactly what we have been doing. We have been sending a very strong message to the Americans that this is the number one priority for us as a country. We want it resolved. The Minister for International Trade has made that a priority.
We also have programs to support workers. The very things we have been doing have been to support workers. We can outline all of those. For those members, $350 million does not mean anything. It means a lot to the communities that are involved. It means a lot for the workers out there. That means we still have to monitor. If we need to do more, we will.
Softwood Lumber May 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated to the hon. member and to the House on a number of occasions, we are monitoring the industry closely. We are very concerned with the layoffs that have happened.
We looked at a variety of programs. We introduced phase one. We will continue looking. If the hon. member has some constructive ideas, I am sure that I and my colleagues would be pleased to look at ideas he wants to bring forward.
However, he should also recognize the good work that has been done already in community adjustment, in research and development, in developing new markets and also in supporting employees in the softwood lumber industry right across the country.
Natural Resources May 27th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, first of all I want to congratulate the member for Durham and the Liberal members who have worked so hard on this file and also ITER Canada, a private sector group which has been working very hard to make sure that we work toward attracting one of the largest science projects in this country.
As a result of the good work of the Liberals, the government put up $3 million to support them and their proposal. They have come back to us because they are competing with Europe and Japan and would like a larger investment. I am consulting with my colleagues in the caucus and my cabinet colleagues as to what we can do from here on in. It is a very big decision and we--
Softwood Lumber May 27th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the package we came up with involved the Minister of Human Resources Development. It involved the Minister for International Trade. It involved the Minister of Industry. It was all those ministries coming together to have a comprehensive package to make sure that we have both long term and short term programs in place to help the very people the member is talking about, the workers, the communities. That is why we have a community adjustment program; $110 million to help communities. We are accepting proposals right now. He should talk about those programs and the good they are doing for the community.
Softwood Lumber May 27th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, we recognized that the industry would go through hardships. That is why way back in October of last year we introduced $350 million to deal with it. We are monitoring it.
Today's decision again shows that Canada is right and the Americans should remove the duty, return the duties that have been collected to Canadian companies and make sure that we have free trade in lumber as in the free trade agreement.
We will defend our industry and we will defend our workers. That is what we have done with the first package. We will monitor it to make sure that if there is more we can do, we will do that.
Softwood Lumber May 26th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we are monitoring the situation very closely. We had hoped to have some sort of an agreement but unfortunately that has not come out. We are still hopeful that there will be an agreement.
I can assure the hon. member that if we do not get an agreement in the near future we will be looking at other measures. However our focus right now is on making sure we get a long term agreement. We also want to monitor the industry closely.
We appreciate the hon. member's view. We will be looking at this issue to see if further action needs to be taken. We want to make sure that our industry can survive during this difficult time and our employees can continue to do the work in the forest industry across the country.
Softwood Lumber May 26th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, first, I am glad the hon. member has recognized that we did have a phase that was very important; $350 million to make sure we work on new markets, on R and D and in a variety of other areas to support the industry.
The hon. member makes a good point. We have to make sure that we monitor the situation closely. We are seeing hardships in certain parts of the industry and we have to ensure that we do everything we can to look at the next phase.
However our first priority is to make sure we get an agreement, which is what the Minister for International Trade is doing. Our priority right now is to make sure we have a long term agreement with the Americans.