Subcommittee on the Automotive Industry in Canada committee  I think it was an evolution. In the eighties, for example, when profits were fatter, the PPAP system was strictly more of a quality system to ensure that there were high-quality parts being mounted on vehicles. It is a structured system and it has different levels of approvals. Say you have an assembly, a head lamp, for example.

Subcommittee on the Automotive Industry in Canada committee  It's very important. This situation that the tool shops are currently in has been years in the making. The PPAP type of parts approval system has been in place for several years. But to pin 100% payment on it...it has come to the point, with the big three coming back to the suppliers, wanting give-backs and cost-cutting, and not just with the mould shops but also the tier ones, where you've carved a lot of the profit out of the system.

Subcommittee on the Automotive Industry in Canada committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Greetings, honourable members. On behalf of the Canadian Association of Moldmakers, and in my capacity as vice-president, I want to say thank you. We appreciate the opportunity afforded to us by your committee to offer our input on the current state of the tooling industry in Canada as it pertains to the automotive industry, and we thank you for that.