On the timeline issue, the provinces reached an agreement in July, the proposal was taken to D.C. in August, negotiations didn't start until October, and the Americans dragged the puck until February, almost 12 months after the February 17 date last year when the Buy American provisions came in and when most of the stimulus had been spent. In fact, in terms of stimulus packages, this was the motherlode of stimulus packages, and with America facing a deficit of $1.6 trillion, anything to come after it is going to pale in comparison.
Given that this exemption really only applies to this stimulus package, and given that we did not even attain exemptions against Buy American provisions in the Jobs for Main Street Act, there are going to be Buy American provisions on an ongoing basis. Do you have concerns that we will see more extended negotiations every time American legislation comes forth with Buy American provisions, that we will see the types of delays and the types of negotiations that will drag the puck and reduce the capacity of Canadian companies to participate?
The government has said that there is some sort of fast track on future negotiations. That's just not the case. There is nothing guaranteed in terms of future negotiations. Shouldn't the government have negotiated a streamlined process to avoid this type of delay and the loss of Canadian jobs for future packages?