Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to start by thanking you for your presentations. I have three questions for our witnesses. The first is directed to the representative of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
I always appreciate your recommendations, even though I may not always agree with them. It's apparent to anyone who reads the newspapers these days that the manufacturing sector is experiencing some serious problems. That being the case, I would imagine that you would like to see reflected in the economy as a whole the will to keep the manufacturing sector strong and that you would like the next budget to include substantial measures to make that happen.
You propose an interesting initiative, one that the Bloc suggested with respect to the softwood lumber crisis. You propose a refundable tax credit. Take the example of Tembec which invests $80 million in R & D, but has not posted a profit in the past three or four years, which means that it cannot avail itself of the tax credit.
Can you tell us more about your proposal? Furthermore, have you calculated what this tax credit would represent to the federal government in terms of a potential shortfall?