First of all, I love this question because I think it's going to be a flagship policy of our government and certainly of my department. It's the “buy Canadian” policy, the main points of which were announced in September by the Prime Minister.
Now, it's true that we're working with Treasury Board on its operationalization. However, clearly the main thrusts are: prioritizing Canadian companies, having Canadian content requirements, making sure we have reciprocal procurements with other reliable trading partners and prioritizing Canadian materials in major procurement or major work in strategic sectors that have been hit with tariffs. I'm thinking of steel, softwood lumber and aluminum. That's what it's going to look like. There's a consultation going on right now on our “buy Canadian” policy. It won't be for a very long time, because we have to move pretty quickly on this issue.
I'd like to take this opportunity to tell all those who are interested in this issue to submit suggestions about the “buy Canadian” policy.
I forgot to mention another fundamental part of the policy, which is to help small and medium-sized businesses submit bids to the Government of Canada and obtain contracts from the Government of Canada. It's often said, and I've heard it from all sides, that it's complicated doing business with the Government of Canada. That has to be simplified. We need to help SMEs.
I think the deputy minister would agree that it's always better for a company to get a contract than to get a grant. It's the best business card to export. We must do so responsibly, while honouring our international trade law obligations. However, we also need to be a little more pragmatic and realistic in our buy Canadian policy.