Softwood Lumber  Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber agreement expired under the previous government. As the Prime Minister said, we look forward to working very closely with the new administration. I continued negotiations with Michael Froman this weekend in Lima during the APEC summit. The Prime Minister also raised the matter with President Obama.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Speaker, we are working very hard on the softwood lumber issue, and we are working on behalf of Quebec and its workers. I was pleased to meet with forestry workers and producers from Quebec this summer in Saguenay, and to meet with officials from the Montreal business community in October.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember that the softwood lumber agreement expired under the previous government's watch. As the Prime Minister said, we look forward to working closely with the new U.S. administration. Negotiations are continuing with the USTR. I met with Mike Froman last weekend in Lima during the APEC summit, and the Prime Minister raised the issue with President Obama.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Speaker, we have been engaged in intense negotiations and consultations for months. The Conseil du patronat du Québec commended the government “for all it has done in defence of the Quebec forestry industry”. Meanwhile, the Quebec Forest Industry Council is “pleased with the government's position on Quebec's forestry regime”.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I do not like embarrassing the member opposite, but the technical details of the TPP are that this agreement can only come into force if it is ratified by six countries which cover 85% of the GDP of the TPP countries. In practice, that means it must be ratified by the United States to come into force.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I have the utmost personal respect and even great fondness for the member opposite. However, we have delivered on trade time after time when his government did not. We got the TPP signed. We got the discriminatory COOL measures removed. We secured access to Mexico and China for Canadian beef.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, let me first clarify a misstatement by the member opposite. We have in no way opened up the COOL issue. In fact, I would like to remind everyone that our right to retaliate on COOL, as granted to us by the WTO, remains in place, and we are ready to use that right.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, our pro-trade credentials are amply demonstrated by the fact that we got CETA signed, something the previous government did not. When it comes to the TPP, I welcome this opportunity to educate the member opposite about the technical details of an agreement his own government negotiated.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber agreement expired under the previous government. As the Prime Minister has said, we look forward to working very closely with the new American administration. Michael Froman and I continued to negotiate last weekend in Lima, and the Prime Minister raised the issue with President Obama.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, when it comes to CETA, we are being absolutely transparent and absolutely consistent with the positions we took in opposition. In opposition, I was our party's trade critic. I was proud then to support this progressive deal. We have made this deal even better. What astonishes me is that the NDP, which was able to support a trade agreement with South Korea, finds itself in 2016 unable to support the world's most progressive trade agreement.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Speaker, I am surprised that the hon. member would bring up Mr. Barroso's visit because it cost Canadians a lot of money and was held before the agreement was signed. The Conservatives were celebrating before an agreement was even signed. That is not what our government is doing.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite began with CETA, that is where I will start. It is very important to point out that the finalization of the legal scrub of CETA was delayed for almost two years because of the failure of the previous government to make the progressive changes that were necessary.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I am really saddened by the need to point out that the hon. member is as ill-informed about the TPP as he is about CETA. The reality is that CETA was stalled until we formed government and until we made the necessary changes. As for the TPP, as the hon. member ought to know, and he could consult with one of his colleagues who is well informed about this agreement, that agreement was signed last year.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, as usual, we are in a position where the Conservatives claim we are doing one thing wrong and the NDP claims we are doing exactly the same thing wrong. That is where we like to be, because it shows we are working hard for Canadians. When it comes to CETA, I am extremely happy to be working energetically to get this progressive trade deal done.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, CETA is clearly in Canada's national interest, and it is time that all members of this House stopped playing partisan politics and rallied around this agreement. We supported CETA when we were in opposition, and I would have expected the Conservatives to do the same now that they are in that position.