Lumber Industry  Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the Maritime Lumber Bureau was caught completely off guard, as were all the softwood lumber mills in Atlantic Canada, by this surprise announcement. Traditionally Atlantic Canada has been treated as a region, not province by province, in negotiations with the U.S. and other parts of Canada when it comes to softwood lumber.

Lumber Industry  Mr. Speaker, as we enter into the urgent negotiations with the United States on softwood lumber, we now have at least four or five completely divergent positions in Canada. The fact is the Minister for International Trade has failed to get consensus from the industry. Yesterday top industrialists in Canada pleaded with the minister to convene a meeting of all the softwood lumber interests to try to get consensus.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber issue is coming to a head as we speak and Canada has yet to establish a united position against the impending U.S. trade actions. The risk to the industry and the country is substantial and the result of countervail and anti-dumping action will be devastating.

Summit Of The Americas  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest as the hon. member mentioned that her party supports engaging society and that citizens should have real input into this issue, but that it reserved the right to protest in a meaningful and peaceful manner. This is in direct contrast to her colleague, the hon. member for Burnaby—Douglas, who in the foreign affairs committee the other day was advocating and outlining a plan to participate in civil disobedience.

International Child Abduction  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to the motion today. I compliment the hon. member for bringing it forth. He has a long track record of dealing with issues that concern young people in Canada and around the world. He deserves a lot of credit and recognition for his work. It is obvious to all members that young people are our most precious resource and that child abduction is reprehensible.

Judges Act  Madam Speaker, I want to bring forward a few issues that were referred to earlier today. The member mentioned equality between Correctional Service Canada and RCMP wages. Certainly equalization is very much a part of this great debate. I believe equalization is more than just money.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, I just asked her if the Governor General requested that a restriction be applied. However, I will go on. There is another job on the website that shows the reason for this concept of western alienation. The website is advertising 50 government policy and planning jobs in Ottawa, which pay up to $81,000, but only applicants from Ontario and Quebec can apply for these 50 jobs.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, the Public Service Commission is advertising a program and policy job opening in the office of the Governor General of Canada. Even though the Governor General of Canada serves all Canada, most Canadians cannot even apply for this job. Only people from Ontario and Quebec can apply.

Modernization Of House Of Commons Procedure  Mr. Speaker, I will just use the example I mentioned. Yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced a change in our policy toward India. That affects the foreign affairs committee but we were not told. We were not given any advance notice. We were not given any opportunity to comment, question, criticize, advise or maybe make improvements to the policy.

Modernization Of House Of Commons Procedure  Mr. Speaker, there are lots of moments in the House when one is not proud to be part of if, but tonight I feel we are here to improve the House and its functions. It is quite refreshing and quite exciting. I hope we are successful in achieving the goal of improving the effectiveness of members of parliament and the effectiveness of parliament itself.

Points Of Order  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced in London, England a fundamental change in foreign policy for Canada. In question period today the parliamentary secretary confirmed it to members of the House of Commons. No advance notice was given to members of parliament and no notification was given to the foreign affairs committee.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I commend the member because he has always taken a very sincere interest in native issues. He talks about quality of life. In the case of the band I mentioned in Nova Scotia, I just added it up roughly, the chief in a very short period of time awarded himself $828,000 while there are people in the band without houses and without food on the table.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, he raises a good point. Where there is a mixture of public funds and private funds, it is often hard to say which dollar comes from which source. In that regard, I believe that if there is any linkage at all to federal or provincial government dollars they should be accountable.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to participate in the debate. I did not have a lot to do with aboriginals or native issues until I was elected a member of parliament and then I became very much involved with them. It has been one of the more interesting and fruitful aspects of my political career since 1988, off and on.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I too acknowledge how complex the situation is. It has tremendous potential to be divisive for the country and may pit four of the provinces against the other six. However we will work with the department if we are kept in the loop. I have a couple of specific questions.