I repeat that it is most important for the textile and apparel industries to work together in Canada. I fully agree on the concept of buying Canadian products. One of our greatest challenges as a manufacturer of ladies undergarments is to find suppliers on the Canadian market. We lost many of them. Indeed, the loss of a supplier hurts more than the loss of a customer.
In our field, the manufacturing of the fabrics, which are often made to our specifications, is very technical. So it is complex, difficult and costly to start over with a new supplier.
Therefore, I believe in an integrated industry although we sometimes follow different paths. As I said earlier, as a representative of the industry, I cannot support the outward processing proposal of the textile industry since this would create a new competitor for our members. It's unfortunate, but this is how we see things right now. Unless a mechanistic can be found that would-- There may be other mechanisms that could be devised in cooperation with the textile industry to avoid losing manufacturing opportunities in Canada. For instance, we could deal directly with our established customers. This is indeed what would happen with outward processing: we would be creating a new competitor and we would reduce manufacturing in Canada. Instead of selling its fabrics to a Canadian customer, it would send it over to Haiti, Bangladesh or elsewhere where the fabrics would be turned into clothing that would be purchased by Wal-Mart, Zellers or The Bay at a much lower price.
On the other hand, I fully agree with Mr. Penner when he says that the profit margins on imports are not reflected in consumer prices. You can believe me: when The Bay gets a bra for $4 through its direct import division, they still sell it for $39.99.