Interviewer: Welcome back. I want to talk about wood. The United States imports about $10-billion worth of softwood, things like pine and spruce from Canada. Now, softwood is used to build houses. It has been in heavy demand here in the States. Lumber companies buy land and grow trees. And that's how we get the wood. In Canada, it's a little bit different. The government owns much of the forest land and lumber companies there pay fees to use it. U.S. lumber companies say that that makes Canadian softwood lumber cheaper than U.S.-grown, and they say that's just not fair. The U.S. government has for years backed the U.S. companies by slapping duty on Canadian softwood, sometimes as high as 27 per cent.
Those duties get passed on to consumers or home builders. Last night, for a fifth time, a joint body that investigates NAFTA complaints again ruled in Canada's favour and against the United States. Once again the United States has said it will ignore that ruling. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin was in town. And he told me that's no way to treat a friend.
Paul Martin: So what we're saying is we want to work with you in a wide range of areas, but if we have rules, then we got to live up to those rules. The American people who have got to pay $1,000 more per home or the American people who can't get a mortgage because their home prices are up, obviously are suffering from lumber costs which are artificial. It's not because Canada wants it. It's because there's a small group of narrow interests in the United States who essentially want to keep that lumber out to keep the lumber prices up.
Interviewer: Canada has not been front and centre on the American psyche in the last few years. Is energy the way to bring that back on the table so that Americans understand the importance of that relationship?
Paul Martin: We are your No. 1 supplier of energy. It may well be that people in the United States don't understand that. But I think we've got to go beyond that to the larger partnership. We've got to have a partnership in the environment. One of the things I'll be talking about is drilling in the Arctic refuge. Just understand that will bring in a little amount of oil. It [will] damage the environment...We won't let the Americans down. We want to see that partnership work in the widest possible way.
Interviewer: Refineries. You and others have said this is a opportunity for Canadians to build refineries.
Paul Martin: It's going to absolutely have to happen. It will happen I'm sure in the States. It will happen in Canada. There's also other alternatives, upgrading. For instance, our oil stands, this huge supply of this recoverable supply requires upgrading. We're going to be building that. We will be investing massively in the kinds of infrastructure that are going to provide new energy sources. We want to do it in an environmentally sound way.
Interviewer: I've got a handful of oil samples in my office just to show people what it is. Tell us about that and the role that Canada can play in alleviating these oil pressures?
Paul Martin: We call them the oil sands. Originally they were called the tar sands. That gives you an idea what this is like. It's not so much drilling for oil as mining. Mining for oil. Canada has pioneered this. As a result of which we have taken an oil supply that just simply would not have been available even though people knew about them and we have a very viable supply. As a result of which, in terms of the United States instead of having to get your oil from riskier places, politically riskier places, as you know, your closest neighbour has it. We really want to work with you on it.
Interviewer: My impression in Canada about that, about the fact that America seems to be willing to pay for as much energy as Canada can produce--Do Canadians get a benefit out of that?
Paul Martin: We are going to — we'll obviously satisfy our own needs. We will never jeopardize our own needs for energy. But clearly in terms of the wider North American partnership we want to work with you. We are a very reliable supplier, but we want to do it in a way that's fair.
