Mr. Elias, I have a lot of questions to ask you, so please keep your answers a little shorter.
I've been observing the auto industry for a number of years. I've noticed the employment level has declined from 20,000 in 2005 to about 8,000 or 9,000 now. This hasn't just happened in the last two to four months; this has been happening over a number of years.
In 2005, I know the Liberal government gave $20 million to the Beacon Project and the flex plant in Oshawa. I know they contributed $50 million to a new Toyota plant in Woodstock, which just opened. I attended the opening in November. I know they gave money to Bombardier, which is doing research on new fuel-efficient planes, hiring thousands of people on their new CSeries plane.
I also know that the McGuinty government declared quite openly a willingness to partner with industry, particularly the auto industry, and has done so over the years. Yet I have not seen any response of meaning from this government, and in fact we know the declaration of last year that they don't choose winners and losers.
So I want to know whether you had a plan. Did you go to the government before now with a plan or proposal? If you did, what was that plan and what was the nature of those discussions? Were they willing to partner with you before now?