Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to talk about an issue that I believe is central to this discussion and to this amendment: the issue of intellectual property rights.
We've talked a lot about public trust. We've talked a lot about trust. I believe that it is important that when companies partner with the federal government on major investments—like the $5-billion battery plant in Windsor, the Northvolt battery plant in Quebec, or the $1-billion battery plant in B.C.—those companies have trust in the federal government, in that partnership.
We talk a lot about what we're protecting in some of these sensitive contracts. I believe that one of the central considerations is intellectual property rights. Intellectual property rights can be, for example, patents, copyrights or trade secrets. That's important because the businesses enter into an agreement or a partnership with the federal government, and there is an expectation there that this information will be protected.
I am proud to say that my dad, who is a retired electrical engineer, worked his whole life in the automotive industry. He worked for a large manufacturing company and—