SoVote

Hon. Mary Ng (Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 2:56:22 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, we have consistently stood up to say that the tariffs against softwood lumber, particularly the very important forestry sector, are unjustified and absolutely unwarranted. We have been working with the Americans to make sure that we are using the dispute settlement mechanism to make sure there are panellists who can look into this. We will always stand up for Canadian workers, the Canadian softwood lumber industry and the forestry sector. I look forward to working with my hon. colleague to keep doing that.

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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24

Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Feb/5/24 2:56:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the time for talk is over. We need loans and loan guarantees to cover the illegal duties. We need to better oversee the CUSMA litigation process to prevent unfair delay tactics. We need to demand a tax exemption for private forests that have nothing to do with the Americans' allegations. We also need to obtain recognition from Washington that Quebec's forestry system is in compliance with free trade requirements. We are willing to work with the government, but it will have to take action. What is it waiting for?

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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24

Hon. Mary Ng (Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Lib.)

Feb/5/24 2:57:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague. Those tariffs are unwarranted. They are unjust. We need to keep standing up for Canadian forestry workers and the sector. I appreciate the suggestions from my hon. colleague. I think what members have seen the government do, time and time again, is to work in support of the sector, particularly through our trade commissioners, where we have helped Canadian forestry companies expand and diversify. We need to keep doing that. However, I welcome the suggestions from my hon. colleague and look forward to working with him.

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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24

Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Feb/5/24 4:00:24 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 52, I request an emergency debate on the impact on the forest industry and its workers, but also on consumers, of the recent decision by the U.S. government to raise anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber. On Thursday, February 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced plans to substantially increase the countervailing and anti-dumping duties it levies on Canadian softwood lumber. If the United States government maintains its preliminary assessment, the duties would almost double from 8.05% to 13.86% starting in August. The software lumber dispute is a bad serial and the episodes have dragged on for decades. As their cash is being siphoned off by the United States, our forestry companies find themselves unable to modernize and slowly decline. The U.S. is causing considerable harm to our resource-rich regions, where hundreds of communities rely on the forest. Despite losing all its cases before the various trade dispute settlement bodies, the U.S. continues to maintain hostilities. The traditional approach, where the government issues a press release to express disappointment and challenges U.S. decisions before trade tribunals, is not working because the U.S. is acting in bad faith on this issue. This is particularly true in Quebec, where stumpage rights are awarded in open auctions using a mechanism quite similar to what our neighbours do south of the border. An emergency debate in which parliamentarians would have the opportunity to express their support for the affected populations and, above all, to propose innovative solutions, could make an essential contribution and allow us to resolve the impasse to which we were led by the U.S. government's stubbornness. The current context and the scale of the announced tariff increase call for an urgent debate; hence my request for such a debate, which I hope the Chair will convene at the earliest opportunity.

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