HILL CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION ON SOFTWOOD LUMBER

November 2, 2001

OTTAWA-PC DR Coalition Solicitor General Critic, Jay Hill rose during question period this morning to take the Liberal government to task on their failure to deal with the softwood lumber crisis.  

“Today, Canada’s $10 billion softwood lumber industry faces duties of more than 30%; tens of thousands of Canadian jobs are now at risk, in addition to the thousands of workers already sitting idle.

The Parliamentary Secretary for International Trade regrets his quote of a few nervous nellies in one part of the country but in BC alone 15,000 people are out of work because of his governments inaction and, not one of them is nervous, just damn mad! 

Will the prime minister immediately go to Washington and refuse to leave until this issue is settled?” questioned Hill. 

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Pat O’Brien, stuck to the scripted Liberal response that they have filed an appeal to the World Trade Organization and that they are trying to figure out a long-term solution that will put and end to the dispute. 

“It is way past time that this government got serious about softwood lumber. The industry cannot afford to wait any longer.”  concluded Hill.