SoVote

Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Dec/1/21 8:20:37 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the hon. member and I sat on the trade committee earlier this year. The minister attended a committee meeting back in June, and we were asking questions on the notification of the duties that were coming. What were the member's thoughts on that meeting and was the minister reassuring in her comments?

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Context: House Hansard - 8 - Dec/1/21

Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Dec/1/21 9:06:32 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Miramichi—Grand Lake. While I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today, it is unfortunate that we are here late tonight having this take-note debate on softwood lumber as a result of the Liberal government’s continued mismanagement of our relationship with the United States. Softwood lumber is a critical industry across the country, particularly in my home province of British Columbia and in the Okanagan. Workers in ths sector have been looking for certainty and stability through the finalization of a new softwood lumber agreement. The last softwood agreement, negotiated and signed by a previous Conservative government, expired in October 2015. Despite the Liberal Prime Minister pledging to negotiate a new agreement after the Liberals formed government, six years, four trade ministers and three different U.S. administrations later we are still waiting. The Liberals also failed to negotiate softwood into CUSMA. Last February, because of my role at the time as shadow minister for international trade, I led, on behalf of our Conservative caucus, the forming of a special committee on Canada-US economic relations, as there were so many serious issues the Liberals were mismanaging. The softwood lumber sector had seen thousands of people lose their jobs. Despite the Prime Minister touting his relationship with the U.S. administration and President Biden, that same administration has now formally announced a doubling of tariffs for our softwood lumber sector. Our relationship is strained, and instead of moving softwood lumber issues forward, they have gone backward. The trade minister's inaction on getting a new softwood agreement with the U.S. is devastating for small businesses and workers in forestry. My community has seen this first-hand. Kelowna-Lake Country used to have a thriving forestry sector, with good jobs and many in the community relying on its success. However, uncertainty and poor market conditions led to over 200 people in my community losing their good jobs at the mill over the course of two years, and the final blow was the mill closure in 2020, a mill which had operated and supported families for over 80 years. Close to 10,000 businesses, large and small, provide services across the value chain for the forestry sector in British Columbia. They rely on the sector thriving to make their payrolls, employ workers and reinvest in their communities. Despite the U.S. announcing its plans to increase countervailing duties on softwood lumber last May, we have seen no concrete evidence that the Liberals made any effort in that time to convince the U.S. that these duties are unjust. The Liberals had five months to act, and what we saw in that time is they were prioritizing an unnecessary election instead of acting for Canadian forestry workers this summer. On top of this, our supply chains with the U.S. are integrated, and this uncertainty has led to higher pricing, which ultimately leads to higher construction costs. The Conservatives have pressed the Liberals to act time and time again. Last spring, when the U.S. announced its intent to double softwood tariffs, my Conservative colleagues and I called an emergency meeting of the international trade committee to hear what actions the trade minister had taken and was planning to take to stop these countervailing duties from happening. What we got instead was the trade minister unable to tell us of any action she had taken, not even whether she had met with U.S. counterparts following the countervailing duty announcement or whether she had discussed it with the ambassador to the U.S. When I asked the trade minister last spring why she was not acting on U.S. plans to double softwood duties, she said she was disappointed that the U.S. was doing this. These are comments she has made again. In a readout of a meeting the trade minister had with her U.S. counterpart yesterday, she once again said that she voiced her disappointment. Being disappointed is not equivalent to taking action. If I were to tell a B.C. forestry worker not to worry as the minister has expressed her disappointment to the U.S. administration on softwood duties, I highly doubt they would find that overly reassuring. Being disappointed will not magically resolve the softwood dispute. We need to see concrete action from the trade minister and the Liberal government to get a new softwood agreement. Our forestry sector depends on this, and it is time the Liberal government takes this seriously, as it is part of our country’s economic recovery.

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Context: House Hansard - 8 - Dec/1/21

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Dec/1/21 9:11:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as I mentioned, we have seen job losses in my community. There were people who had worked at the mill for 15, 20, 25, 30 or 35 years and all of a sudden they are out of work. This was their profession. There are not a lot of other options available for them. We do know as well that, when we look at production in North America, production still exists. What we have seen, though, is loss happening in Canada and increases going to the U.S., so we are losing business to the U.S. What this is doing is causing so much uncertainty in the industry. There is not a lot of confidence to invest here in Canada and to keep those jobs here. This is why a softwood lumber agreement would be so important.

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Context: House Hansard - 8 - Dec/1/21

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Dec/1/21 9:13:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we have to remember that we have not had a softwood lumber agreement now since 2015. As I mentioned in my speech questioning the minister, there were very few talks, negotiations or communications going on. That is what happens when there is a breakdown in a relationship. The current president in the U.S., President Biden, was the vice-president back when we had an agreement, which the Conservatives had extended, so it is absolutely achievable. It has not been a focus of the government at all, and it is a real failure.

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Context: House Hansard - 8 - Dec/1/21

Mrs. Tracy Gray

Dec/1/21 9:15:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am sure we are all hopeful there will be some solutions that come out of this. The last time there were highly publicized conversations between the trade minister, the Prime Minister and their counterparts, it was announced shortly after that these countervailing measures might be coming. We have seen the trend here. We are certainly hopeful that there will be some resolution. That is what we all want. Everyone in this House wants a resolution so we can give the industry certainty and stability.

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