The auto industry in Canada accounts for roughly 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. As Mr. Romano pointed out, whether it's through dealerships or the supply chain, we are located in virtually every community across Canada. When something happens to the auto industry, it doesn't happen only to the assembly jobs. It happens to seven other jobs in that community. And to that extent, everybody is going to feel the pain, particularly when the auto industry itself accounts for 12% of manufacturing GDP in Canada.
Our view would be that sooner or later the $1,000 that you as an individual loan to these companies will pay more dividends in terms of job retention, and therefore benefits in every community across Canada, than if we did nothing. If we do nothing, the pain is going to be pretty substantial in every community where we're located. We've seen this happen before. A strike at General Motors for a period of time in the mid-nineties knocked off a full percentage of GDP in Canada in a very short time. That is huge.
So that would be an attempt at a response to an individual who asks if they should or shouldn't lend $1,000 of their money to these companies.