Thank you, Chair.
As a representative from Hamilton, I represent Hamilton West, Ancaster and Dundas. Hamilton has been the industrial centre of Canada for the past century. I have family members who have worked at Dofasco, Westinghouse and Stelco. I'm very familiar with that industrial manufacturing component and how important it is to a municipality.
In particular, Hamilton is one of the most tariff-impacted municipalities in all of Canada. There's no question that there is a direct impact on the businesses, but it's also on the families and workers, because of the amount of uncertainty there is. It's impacting their daily lives on a regular basis.
Going back to the start of this conversation, the United States government unilaterally initiated a trade war against Canada, and its goal is to destroy the Canadian economy and take businesses back to the United States. When I'm talking to business leaders in Hamilton, industry executives or union representatives, families, our local chambers of commerce, and manufacturing and industry organizations, obviously we all want a resolution to this, but we recognize that we are only one side in this conflict, and what I've heard very consistently is that Canada cannot accept a bad deal.
Mr. Caron, I think you stated it really clearly. We cannot accept a shakedown of small businesses. Again, what I've heard is that capitulation to or acceptance of bad terms for Canada is actually worse than continuing to fight and continuing to negotiate, even with a hostile U.S. administration.
Mr. Caron, I'll give you the opportunity to expand on that and on what you're hearing from your members as well.