I heard this loud and clear. Thank you for coming today.
There's a number of things I have learned. Governments say that industry must use new technology and modernize in order to be more competitive. However, you have to realize that technology is available all over the world and that other countries can also use it. Thus technology catches up with us, and we are less competitive because others use new technologies as well.
We were competitive for a few years when the value of our dollar was low. Now that we have a high dollar, we can't make it any more. We are stuck again in a ditch and we are not competitive.
You have raised the issue of the 1% on products made in Canada. This could be added to the first 1%. You have also raised the matter of the campaign promoting domestic made products. Some stores may find it difficult to affix these labels. Perhaps we will find one or two of them in each store.
However, there is something you did not talk about or that you barely mentioned. There are counterfeit goods coming into the country. Does this affect your sales? If others see your designs, copy them and then the counterfeit products are allowed into the country, you will no doubt suffer monetary losses.