International Trade committee  Yes, we were speaking on the topic.

International Trade committee  We are, yes.

International Trade committee  No, we haven't spoken specifically about CETA. We were talking about foreign companies working in Canada, low-cost companies.

International Trade committee  Exactly.

International Trade committee  Not particularly related to CETA but related to the topics you talked about earlier, about foreign competition, and whether it is Asia or Europe, it's really the same thing. There has been a lot of discussion over the past several months across the country with companies from Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.

International Trade committee  Are you speaking of the Canadian Institute Of Steel Construction?

International Trade committee  Yes, we're very supportive of the principle of CETA, but again it comes back to the fair trade side of things when it comes to labour costs. That's the part we're concerned about.

International Trade committee  I would like to comment on that because you are correct. We were a little intimidated, too, in 1994 with the free trade agreement with the United States. Again, we felt that when you look at the numbers as far as labour cost inputs were concerned it was fair. We're not so certain about some of the countries that we're going in with here on the other side.

International Trade committee  I guess it comes down to whether, when it comes to infrastructure, you want foreign companies building your infrastructure for you. I'm aware of the project you're talking about. I'm aware of the events that took place, and they did make some mistakes. They're certainly paying for them and they are correcting their mistakes, but I would say you're just taking chances at some point.

International Trade committee  No, I was not aware of that.

International Trade committee  We've had no interest in the European markets over the past few years because we have been quite successful in Canada and North America. Again, as I said, with what has happened with the U.S. over the past several years, with the exchange rates and their economy suffering and the buy American provisions, that has pointed us in a different direction.

International Trade committee  I would like a little more mobility of labour, but I think the labour mobility here is more or less at the managerial level and not so much at the skilled labour level. I don't think it applies to skilled labour, and that's what we're looking for in Canada. I think all of the witnesses could tell you that labour is certainly a problem here in Nova Scotia.

International Trade committee  No, there's not, not to my knowledge.

International Trade committee  I'd have to pull it out and discuss some of the details. The only protections, I think, relate to shipbuilding. There's a three- to seven-year protection on shipbuilding, but from what I can see, there is no protection for local content. For example, if Halifax Regional Municipality wanted to purchase goods and services, they couldn't buy them locally.

International Trade committee  We are very competitive on a North American basis. That's because our labour costs and input costs are similar. That changed with the increased valuation of the Canadian dollar. We still are competitive, but certainly not as we were when the dollar was 65 cents. It's no different from the fishing industry.