Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on 
Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Issue 6 - Sixth Report of the Committee

Thursday, December 14, 2006

The Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade has the honor to present its

SIXTH REPORT

Your Committee, to which was referred Bill C-24, An Act to impose a charge on the export of certain softwood lumber products to the United States and a charge on refunds of certain duty deposits paid to the United States, to authorize certain payments, to amend the Export and Import Permits Act and to amend other Acts as a consequence, has, in obedience to the Order of Reference of Wednesday, December 13, 2006 examined the said Bill and now reports the same without amendment. Your Committee appends to this report certain observations relating to this Bill.

Respectfully submitted,

HUGH SEGAL

Chair

Observations to the Sixth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(Bill C-24)

In reviewing Bill C-24, the committee is concerned that the Bill and the agreement that it enacts either create of exacerbate a number of softwood lumber trade issues including:

1) That some $1.0 billion has been left in the U.S., some $500 million of which can be used by the industry there to compete with Canadian industry;

2) That there are no guarantees that this agreement will last beyond two years;

3) That this agreement may in future limit the support that the Canadian federal and provincial governments can give to the Canadian lumber industry;

4) That many jobs and small, rural communities in Canada may be in jeopardy, because of this agreement;

5) That this agreement sets a dangerous precedent in circumventing the NAFTA dispute resolution process, thereby potentially weakening NAFTA.

These are amongst the issues that the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee will continue to monitor. The Committee plans to continue its comprehensive review of the agreement in 2007.