Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for coming today.
We know that the situation in the last few years has had devastating effects on the textile and apparel industries. There were tariff changes that resulted in job losses. Overall, since 1989, we have seen an erosion of the income of a great majority of Canadian families. We know that 60% of Canadian families have less resources and less income than in 1989 and that 20% of families have the same income. Only the highest-paid people got a salary increase.
The issue of quality jobs is very important not only to this committee but to all of the Canadian Parliament.
I want to go back to the issue of tariff changes for the textile and apparel industries. What action should have been taken to prevent the job losses of the past several years? What action should the federal and provincial governments take in order to maintain and even increase the number of quality jobs in your industries?