Pierre Paquette

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, April 10th, 2002]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-439, an act to amend the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.

Mr. Speaker, very briefly, the purpose of this bill is to amend the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act so as to exclude products which are classified by the Israelis as Israeli in origin but which in fact originate from Israeli settlements in the territories occupied since 1967 in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

I think that this proposal is entirely consistent with Canada's policy of not recognizing the occupation of these territories since 1967. I seek the support of all the parties and of all members of this House to pass it speedily, given the current situation in the Middle East.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Softwood Lumber, April 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we would like to have some idea of how long it will take to review government programs.

During the negotiations with the Americans, the minister saw first hand that they are not joking, and that their strategy is to penalize our industry to the point of weakening it and even eliminating it.

Given this fact, does the minister not agree that he should present an emergency plan to assist the softwood lumber industry and the workers affected, since winning a legal battle will be of no use once our businesses have closed and jobs have vanished?

[Softwood Lumber, April 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, in response to our questions about an assistance plan for the softwood lumber industry and its workers, the Minister for International Trade kept telling us he was taking an inventory of existing programs, and there would be nothing new.

Yet, ten minutes later, upon leaving the House, he told the media that he was prepared to go beyond existing programs, without, of course, promising anything.

Will the minister stop shirking his responsibilities and tell us if he plans on considering our proposals or if he has any other ideas to assist the softwood lumber industry and its workers?

[Softwood Lumber, April 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, what we want now is not intentions but actions.

This past February 21 in the House, the parliamentary secretary to the minister spoke of an action plan, and we are still waiting for it. The unions reminded the minister of this, moreover, when he was in Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean.

By doing nothing, as he is now, the minister is giving Canada and the United States the impression that he does not want to fight to the end to obtain unhampered access to the U.S. for our softwood lumber.

[Softwood Lumber, April 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Baie-Comeau, representatives of labour and the lumber industry indicated to us that they felt they had been tricked by the Minister for International Trade. Having shown solidarity with his strategy, they now find themselves left to their own devices to cope with the 29% tariffs imposed by the Americans. Some fear for their companies and their jobs.

Does the minister realize that solidarity is not one-way, and that an assistance plan for the industry and its workers is necessary in the softwood lumber sector, as the Bloc Quebecois has proposed?

[Softwood Lumber, March 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, today is the day that the Americans are supposed to announce their decision on what they are going to do about Canadian softwood lumber. On his return from the United States, the Prime Minister indicated that an agreement was imminent, and the Minister for International Trade made the commitment not to sign any agreement that did not take provincial specifics into account.

Can the Deputy Prime Minister assure us that his government will not sign an agreement just to save face for the Prime Minister, and that any agreement that might ensue will respect the specific nature of Quebec and of the provinces?

[Lumber, March 20th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is not setting our minds at rest. He is still talking about long term objectives.

Does the Deputy Prime Minister not think that it is time to introduce a plan to provide assistance to the softwood lumber industry and its workers in order to show that the Canadian government is serious about wanting to go back to free trade?

[Lumber, March 20th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, there are only a few loose ends to wrap up for the Prime Minister to conclude a softwood lumber agreement. The Minister for International Trade is in Washington, and a Canadian representative has said that the minister would certainly not come to witness a failure. Despite this optimism, there is talk of countervailing duties of 37% and there are still no guarantees of access to the U.S. market.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister assure us that there is no question of presenting as a victory a possible reduction in countervailing duties and that the only acceptable solution is a full return to free trade?

[Social Development Fund, March 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the UN conference on the funding of development, which the Prime Minister will attend, began yesterday in Monterrey. We are urging the Prime Minister to promote the idea of a development fund for the Americas, as are doing Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois and the Quebec government.

On Friday, in Mexico, the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas, or FIPA, unanimously passed a resolution to promote a social development fund to build social infrastructures that would reduce the gap between the very rich and the very poor. The support of the Bloc Quebecois and of the Quebec civil society was stressed by the Mexican delegation that made the proposal.

The resolution adopted by the parliamentarians representing 23 countries of the Americas will be sent to the Monterrey conference. The Prime Minister of Canada must seize this opportunity. The have nations of the Americas have a responsibility to work to eliminate social and economic inequalities.

Should the Government of Canada oppose the creation of this development fund, it would not show the solidarity that it is supposed to show to its partners from the Americas.

[Softwood Lumber, March 12th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, this still does not tell us what guarantees the government is going to go after.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade mentioned in the House that an assistance plan was being implemented in the softwood lumber industry.

I ask the Minister for International Trade to confirm this statement and to tell us what form this plan to help the industry will take.