October 2, 2007
OTTAWA – Conservative International Trade Minister David Emerson continues to ignore that his Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) with the United States is fatally flawed, Liberal International Trade Critic Navdeep Singh Bains said today.
“Mr. Emerson is clearly out of touch with what is happening to the softwood lumber industry under his watch,” said Mr. Bains. “It is time he admit the agreement, which he signed and is constantly forced to defend, is a failure. He must now start to actually defend Canada’s interests in this important industry.”
In Saturday September 29th letter to the Financial Post, Mr. Emerson again claimed that his softwood lumber agreement had “put an end to years of costly litigation and export duties…” Both statements are false. Under the terms of the SLA, Canadian softwood lumber is now subject to an export charge of 15 per cent. As well, Canada is currently in a London court defending itself against U.S.-based challenges of quota violations and will soon face a similar process on provincial programs.
“Mr. Emerson speaks like a man who has sided completely with the U.S. lumber lobby,” said Mr. Bains. “His softwood deal has left our industry in limbo and compromised Canada’s sovereignty. I cannot imagine a worse deal for the industry or Canada as a whole.
“The lumber industry creates high quality, high paying jobs. This government’s decision to sign the SLA and its blind support of the agreement since then is yet more proof that this government can’t be trusted to defend Canadian industry.”
