Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for your presentations. They were very clear, and enlightening. I found that you gave us an interesting overview of the situation, especially when Mr. Stewart-Patterson referred to the world as being divided into two: the energy industries, other sectoral industries and the western regions versus the rest of Canada.
We have here a very revealing table from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business indicating when SME owners could begin retiring. Apparently, 71% of SME owners will be out of the market in 10 years' time. These people are 50 or 55 years old today and they wonder whether they are going to hand over the company to their children or to other people, whether they will shut down or whether they will sell their companies to the Americans, given the current context.
If I've understood you correctly, you've all said that there needed to be a clear policy and clear political will with regard to the manufacturing industry.
I would like a response from each group to my question. If you were the industry minister or the Primer Minister of Canada, in what direction would you like to see the government go?
Let me give you an example. Earlier on, Mr. Stewart-Patterson said that as we do not have much influence over the Bank of Canada, we need to find other solutions.
The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters have an important page on the role of government, but I would like each one of you to tell us what you feel is the most important thing that is needed in order to have a strong manufacturing sector, not only from a global perspective, but in all regions of Canada.