And in this corner...

It's hard to say which is the more positive development on the softwood lumber file: the fact that David Emerson has been forced to at least pretend to address his critics (including notably Peter Julian), or the sheer emptiness of Emerson's response:

NDP trade critic Peter Julian this week claimed taxpayers would end up cutting a cheque for $200 million because industry support for the deal is below the threshold needed to meet Canada's obligation to reserve $1 billion in duty refunds for the Americans.

Emerson promised the softwood deal would not be implemented on the backs of taxpayers and called the suburban Vancouver MP "intellectually dishonest."

"He's ideologically motivated and he's not doing a service to workers who he would, I'm sure, claim to represent," he said.

Julian shot back, saying Emerson's comments represent the kind of bullying tactics the government is using on the deal's political and industry opponents.

"It's a sign of just how incredibly desperate this minister and this government is to try to ram through a deal that is so horribly bad for the country," he said.

"So what do they resort to? They resort to name-calling and insults and bullying, rather than talk about the substance of the agreement and what Canada loses in this."

It remains to be seen whether Emerson will actually be pushed to respond meaningfully to the massive problems in both process and substance surrounding the deal, rather than simply responding in buzzwords and hoping the matter goes away. And given the Cons' track record of obfuscation and strawman-bashing, there may not be much chance of getting Emerson to actually admit anything about the deal.

But then, the Cons' tactics in forcing the deal on the industry speak volumes about the deal in substance. And whether or not they'll actually let their own facade crumble, the Cons are now undoubtedly on notice that while an industry weakened by years of illegal tariffs may not have been able to hold out against their bullying, the NDP and other opposition parties won't be so easily coerced.