No, we have not calculated the losses, because they are considerable. First, you are right when you say that changing labels cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Distributors want to comply with the legislation, even though it provides that they can use up the labels they have on hand. Generally, small manufacturers purchase labels for two or three years in order to reduce their costs. When legislation is passed and people are given three to four months to comply with it, first of all, it is almost impossible to use up the supplies, and second, distributors require that manufacturers comply with the deadline set at the beginning of the year for changing the labels. So people had to do that.
This is an industry that wants to develop new markets, and then the economic crisis came along at the same time, so there is a shortage of money. Mr. Richard mentioned that with the exception of produce, the cost of products in stores has dropped rather than increasing. Since manufacturers can no longer refer to the quality of the product with the label "Product of Canada", they are inclined to see whether they can get their inputs from foreign suppliers. At the moment, they have to say that the products are manufactured in Canada, and can no longer say that they are "Products of Canada". They are in the same situation as importers who buy certain products in bulk for packaging in Canada. These too will be labelled "Made in Canada". So not only are we losing the money we got because the quality of the product was recognized, we are also losing money with the system, and on our agricultural products.
Three years ago, we processed 85% of the agricultural products produced in Quebec. Last year, the figure was 70%. There has been a significant drop, and this is going to continue. If we look at the results we want, results we've never had in the past, we are going to have to do some things we have never done before. That is why we are coming up with new business models, and the government is inviting us to leave Canada to do that. This makes no sense! But to answer your question, we have not calculated how much this has cost us.