Canadian Mining Industry  Mr. Speaker, the mining industry contributes $26 billion to the Canadian economy every year. It accounts for 16% of our trade exports. It adds $7 billion to Canada's positive trade balance. It generates 368,000 Canadian jobs. It is the lifeblood of 128 communities, especially in rural, remote, northern and aboriginal areas, and it is very much a sophisticated high tech industry that leads the world in sustainable development.

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food expressly amended Bill C-4 to specify that CWB directors will be elected by producers. That was supported by all parties and by all major farm organizations. The word “producer” is a defined term in the act.

Forestry  Mr. Speaker, long before this member or that party engaged in this issue in this House, this government and our provincial counterparts were working very hard on delivering the message around the world that Canadian forest practices are sustainable and that we can be trusted to pursue those practices in this country.

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Wheat Board electoral process is going very well. Sixty-four candidates, many of them brand new people, are running for the 10 positions, so there is obviously a healthy contest. For the most part, the debate is positive and constructive. An editorial in yesterday's Lethbridge Herald —

Canadian Wheat Board  Mr. Speaker, the debate on the prairies is obviously healthier than the debate across the way. An editorial in yesterday's Lethbridge Herald said this: “Democracy is alive and well in agriculture in western Canada. The most important thing from a farmer morale perspective is the actual vote.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, there are rules, regulations and laws applicable in every jurisdiction in this country and in the world. It is incumbent on all of us who respect democracy and the rule of law to follow those rules and regulations. It is the responsibility of government, no matter how difficult it may be in some circumstances, to make sure that those laws are applied impartially in all circumstances, and that is what is happening in this case.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, I have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of the allegations made by the hon. member. I am sure these are allegations the Minister of Justice would like to inquire into in terms of the integrity of the Canadian judiciary.

Lumber Industry  Mr. Speaker, I believe that Hansard will show that this issue was first raised in the House of Commons by Liberal members on the government side. It is true there are number of organizations that over the course of the past period of time have misconstrued and misinterpreted Canadian forestry practices.

Greenpeace  Mr. Speaker, this is an issue that involves a number of departments and agencies within the Government of Canada and obviously within the U.S. government. Our thrust will be twofold: first of all to ensure that buyers around the world understand the true story about Canadian forestry practices so that they can understand that forestry in Canada is conducted in a sustainable manner; and second, we will insist that our trading partners, like the United States, live up to their obligations and allow Canadian ships to land when they are supposed to.

Environment  Mr. Speaker, it was a very positive, cordial and productive meeting. Ministers reviewed the progress being made by 15 analytical groups that involve 450 Canadian experts representing every province and every sector of the Canadian economy. They are all working on every aspect of the climate change challenge.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada, prior to the last budget, was investing something in the order of $100 million a year in climate change related solutions. In the last budget we also added the climate change action fund which is an additional $150 million over the next three years to accelerate the process, particularly in relation to new technology development and deployment.

Forestry  Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to review this issue in considerable depth with the responsible minister in the B.C. government. It was also a subject of discussion at the most recent meeting of Canadian forestry ministers. Together with the industry, all levels of government are working on the appropriate strategy to make sure the world understands sustainable development practices in the Canadian forest industry and to explain to the world that when we manage our forests we do it properly and in a way that the world can rely on.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, the first ministers of this country met within 48 hours after Kyoto to put in place an inclusive process involving provinces, industry, environmental organizations and many others. Energy and environment ministers met in April to launch that process. That process is now underway.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, the allegations are not true. There has been no export subsidy with respect to Canadian grain since the western grain transportation act was repealed in 1995, and the volume flows are completely normal, in the range of 1.6 million tonnes or so which has been the long term average.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman knows that the major portion of forest management is within the jurisdiction of the province of British Columbia. But within federal jurisdiction we have been taking a number of initiatives. For example, the Minister for International Trade continues to work on the issue of Canadian access into the U.S. market four our softwood lumber, including the most recent customs ruling by the United States.