Industry committee  If I may, living standards basically increase for three reasons: you boost productivity, you work more and have more employment, or you have an increase in the price of the goods you sell to the world compared with the price of the goods they sell to you. Basically we've had all three working for us over the last three years.

Industry committee  Not that I'm aware of in our group. But we can look into it and see what might be available and come back to you, if you want.

Industry committee  The story in the manufacturing sector is not an even one. As I was saying in my opening statement, overall output has been increasing in the sector, but it hasn't been increasing across the board or in some subsectors. Those are covered mostly in the chart on page 6, telling us that China is displacing Canadian producers in the Canadian market in textiles, clothing, leather, computers, etc.

Industry committee  Absolutely.

Industry committee  It's increased another 5 per cent in the last six months. Pardon me, I interrupted you.

Industry committee  It rose another 5%, but that's nothing compared to what happened in the past two years, when the changes were even more significant. The Canadian dollar has risen approximately 35% in total since early 2003.

Industry committee  We largely rely on studies that have been conducted by specialists in the field, but we don't do this kind of study ourselves.

Industry committee  As my colleague Cliff said a little earlier, during the 1990s, it was essentially the manufacturing sector and net exports that drove all of the country's growth. We now have more balanced growth, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm not saying it's a good thing to lose jobs, but I believe we have to look at matters over the medium term.

Industry committee  It's important to bear in mind that a number of variables are interrelated. When the dollar rises, interest rates don't necessarily increase, contrary to what you said earlier. That's not a hard and fast rule. So it's important not to engage in too much speculation or projection.

Industry committee  That's a very tough question.

Industry committee  First, the rise in the dollar isn't over. The economic models are telling us that we'll have to wait roughly two years before the impact of a significant change in exchange rates is reflected in production and employment. The impact is felt sooner on production and on employment.

Industry committee  The major rise in the exchange rate and energy prices is already over. So those adjustments are made. With regard to what happened in 2003-2004, there had been relatively minor changes in recent months, but compared to what happened before that, these changes are more minor. I don't want to speculate about amounts or when this will happen, but there are still a few adjustments to come.

Industry committee  We're not specialists. The specialists in the field work at the Bank of Canada for our private sector consultants. We use their forecasts. If there is a one per cent increase in the dollar, the models seem to say that a 0.04 per cent decline in employment will be observed two years later.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the committee for the invitation to appear before you to discuss manufacturing in Canada. The committee is undertaking a very important and timely examination of the Canadian manufacturing sector. We've prepared a document that was distributed to you, I believe.