Industry committee  Let me answer that and deal with a couple of dimensions to that question, Mr. Carrie. First of all, from the point of view of the steel producers in Canada, the markets they serve, and the new products they make in the markets we serve, it's almost exclusively Canada and the U.S.

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  Absolutely, and I'll turn in a moment to Mr. Sampson to give part of that answer. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, I believe the partnership council model is a very constructive way, and as I said, I genuinely think it's something Canadians actually can do quite well--bringing together industry, organized labour, governments of course at senior levels, and academia to try to define and develop a perspective on what needs to be done and some practical steps that can be taken with it.

Industry committee  Again, I think the issue becomes in part, where do you stand on effective tax rates for foreign investment? Secondly, our major competitor for investment of course is the United States. As I think you know, it has certainly employed super-depreciation provisions in the past, and this is an attempt to put Canada into a position where we can compete better for those investments.

Industry committee  Thank you. The short answer is that trade remedy and trade actions do remain a significant factor in this business, both in Canada and in other countries. It is the case that within Canada there has been less action of that nature than in, for example, the United States, but there continue to be trade actions brought against countervailing and anti-dumping cases.

Industry committee  Again, with the situation of Canada versus China, for example, I think it's important to bear in mind that a lot of the basic inputs to steelmaking are established on more or less a global basis. For example, strap steel is shipped to China, but it's purchased on open markets. Sources of energy and other inputs of production are commodity prices by and large that China also faces.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. McTeague. On the first question, not just on stainless but the whole product mix and who makes what, of course, as with a lot of industries, there has been a combination of consolidation and specialization that has developed across the industry. As I pointed out in my remarks, we do compete within North America, and in fact I would contend that we probably have, in some respects, the most open steel market in the world.

Industry committee  We don't typically go into the details on any particular company's financial performance, but I would say that they have been operating since emerging from CCAA protection. I think they've actually made pretty good progress. The new president, Denis Turcotte, has made quite a good impact.

Industry committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and thank you very much. Good afternoon, members of the committee. Bonjour, mesdames et messieurs. The Canadian Steel Producers Association welcomes this opportunity to add its voice to your deliberations. This is a much-needed and overdue inquiry.