Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our witnesses as well.
I want to begin by clarifying a comment made earlier. I too watched President Biden's address, as did many in our government. I believe that last night in addressing Congress, President Biden was referring to “buy American” not “buy America”, and specifically to his concern about one-off exemptions being given in a discretionary manner for certain contracts, which is not the topic of our study today. All members know this, and I'm sure our witnesses know this as well. We are looking at buy America and potential measures that may be imposed with respect to that. It's an important distinction.
I want to start by speaking to Mr. Simard as a Quebecker who is proud of the aluminum industry. It's certainly a source of pride for us all.
According to my information, Quebec produces about three million tonnes of aluminum each year. This amounts to about 60% of the entire North American production capacity. We often hear that Quebec's aluminum is the greenest in the world, and you have touched on this as well.
Have you ever spoken with your American counterparts about this issue to help them understand the environmental value of our aluminum?