Denis Lebel

[Forestry Industry, September 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region for a meeting with the rural university, and so I was able to attend that event. I did not at all feel what the member opposite just reported. The forestry issue in Quebec is a provincial jurisdiction and our government is doing more than what has been done in the past.

Thanks to all government stakeholders, we are investing over $100 million to regenerate our forests in terms of silviculture and forest management. However, again, the Bloc Québécois voted against our action plan.

[Forestry Industry, June 18th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague should know if he knows this file, the problems with the forestry industry unfortunately have to do with the market. It is hard for these people. Products are not selling for what they used to.

We recently announced that Export Development Canada had given the forestry industry in Quebec alone nearly $9 billion in support in 2008, with different financial products.

We must continue supporting the forestry industry and planning for the future, because the market will pick up again.

[Forestry Industry, June 18th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, with my colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, I was pleased to announce $1 billion over three years for Canada's pulp and paper industry, to improve our productivity and competitiveness.

I would like to quote the president of the Forest Products Association of Canada:

What we particularly appreciate about this announcement is that it demonstrates a commitment to the future of the industry through its support to capital improvements - exactly what the industry needs...

That comes from the industry itself.

[Manufacturing and Forestry Industries, June 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, Canada is not an island. Economic turmoil is affecting the whole world.

Our government's economic action plan, with billions invested in infrastructure, training and renovation credits, is generating economic activity, and we are beginning to see a recovery. We do not need rose-coloured glasses to see that things will get even better. We are hard at work. We must be given the opportunity to keep working. Thank you for allowing us to keep working to stimulate this country's economy.

[Forest Industry, June 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Bloc Québécois is trying to take credit for the government's work. And once again, it is not the case.

Thanks to the work of the Minister of Natural Resources and of our government, we have successfully put in place a program that will support the pulp and paper industry and improve its competitive edge, as well as making it greener in response to market trends.

Once again, the only thing the Bloc Québécois wants is to again stir up a political crisis by pitting one province against another. Why do they not always give the full picture?

[Forestry Industry, June 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber agreement signed in good faith by the Canadian and American governments included a framework that we must abide by. The agreement provides for support from government partners. The government itself must comply with the terms of the agreement.

With respect to the auto sector, this is a free market issue, and any announcements that have been made or will be made in the next few hours involve the governments of both countries and a provincial government. That is something else altogether. Someone has tried to mislead people, but it is not true.

[Forestry Industry, June 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in answer to my colleague's question, the journalist who made the mistake corrected it. Perhaps my colleague has not read that article. He only read what he wanted to.

EDC supplied $9 billion in financial services, including accounts receivable insurance and other services, to 226 forestry companies in Quebec in 2008, and it will continue to do so.

[Forestry Industry, June 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to quote Avrim Lazar, president of the Forest Products Association of Canada, who said: “The government did not kill the forestry industry; the market did. The government did not drop the prices on wood or pulp and paper; the market did.”

Our solutions must focus on the real issue, which is that no one wants to buy our products right now, because we are going through a global recession. We have set up, along with our colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, a Canada-Quebec committee that is working on finding solutions. We have already announced some of these solutions and others will follow.

[Forestry Industry, June 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the automobile industry is a free market that is not governed by an agreement signed on both sides of the border to regulate an industry. As for the forestry industry, it is at the very request of that industry, following requests made to us in 2006, that our government signed an agreement with our American partners. We must now respect this agreement.

I know that forestry workers are going through difficult times, but we will continue to support them by implementing programs to help them.

[Oral Questions, May 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I used the words I heard in the question. Since my words are considered unparliamentary, I will say that I probably should have said that the elements of the question were erroneous. I therefore withdraw the word I used. I should have said "erroneous".