I would like to touch on the subject of new technologies, because yesterday, the House of Commons adopted a report of the Standing Committee on Finance, which said that measures must be taken to assist the manufacturing industry. These companies do not have access to the R&D tax credit, for example, simply because they are not making any profit. The manufacturing industry made an effort in the past and reduced its greenhouse gas emissions. It still has some polluting industrial processes that date back a number of years that it would like to modernize. The fact is that the Canadian tax system penalizes these companies just because they are not making a profit.
Would it not be time to provide access to these new technologies, as you say in point 2 of your brief entitled: "The Technology Opportunities", and to make R&D tax credits refundable? Is it not time to provide for a two-year capital cost deduction over a period of five years, and make these provisions of the tax system available to manufacturing companies? The federal government is cutting back on the options open to these companies. Of course, sometimes they want to change their industrial processes for economic reasons, but this would also have a significant impact on the environment as well.