Even yesterday we had witnesses come forward and indicate those types of suggestions, having smaller areas, so that those that may not have the same competitive advantage as the urban or larger areas would be protected. I think that's a very strong argument for talking about having smaller areas for servicing.
Mr. Chair, that is only one recommendation, and we agree. I think the telecommunications sector needs to be reviewed and it needs reform. But unfortunately the recommendation that has just come forward today without preparation--and the way it's been put forward indicates it doesn't have preparation--is a way to get in the way of moving ahead, and not only for the government. The government is secondary to this whole issue. The consumers are truly important to this whole issue. This motion is really going to put everything we're trying to do here on the back burner.
At one point we wanted to move ahead on telecommunications as a committee, right from the start in April. That was certainly the desire of the government. Certainly the Conservative Party wanted to move ahead. It wasn't the wish of the rest of the committee. The rest of the committee opposed that and said manufacturing, because we had the high dollar at that time. It was reaching toward 90 cents. We had high fuel prices. We had a number of issues within the auto sector, the textile industry, and a number of those across this country were raising some issues with everybody in the opposition.
That being said, we went into a manufacturing study, so the manufacturing study put telecommunications on the back burner. Even though we had a telecommunications report that had been started by the past government, the Liberal government, and that had come forward with recommendations that I think we all agree are good recommendations, we've got into a bit of a match about whether there's something we should be providing by...some call it cherry-picking. Actually, it's very informative for the consumer and to the telecommunications people that we move ahead in a very professional and forthright manner and start to work for the consumers of Canada, start to work for the people up and down our roads, and start to give the people in this country the advantage of savings in the telecommunications industry.
So we forgot it or forgave it, I guess, and went ahead with the manufacturing report so that we could get that out of the way. Well, it was a great report, and this committee worked well and worked hard to make that happen.
I am on two committees, and this is the first one that came forward with a unanimous report on manufacturing. I sit on another committee, veterans affairs, and we set aside our partisanship, we set aside our political affiliation and we work for the people, the veterans. We have a concern for the veterans and what we can do to make their lives better, to make their lives as good as other Canadians' in this great country.
Some things have been neglected over the last number of years; in fact, not just a few, a lot. Arguments could have come across the table--you know, for 13 years you haven't done that--but we didn't say that.