Madam Chair, everyone agrees that we must keep the softwood lumber agreement. Everyone knows that, including my colleague. The industry has said so and continues to say so. That is why we sat down with Quebec and with industry stakeholders to find out where investments could make a difference.
We invested $200 million in Quebec to support silviculture work through agreements in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Nord-du-Québec, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Saguenay-Côte-Nord. Then, we invested $34.7 million to repair bridges and culverts on multipurpose routes.
My colleague, the Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, recently announced $100 million in assistance for forestry communities. I must point out that all of these commitments by the federal government have helped maintain or create 8,300 jobs in Quebec. That is significant.