Industry Committee on May 17th, 2016

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

There are 650-odd wineries across Canada now. Going back to the steel industry, one of the major concerns I have often heard from vintners is cooperage, the steel containers that they use to make wine. Oftentimes they come from China. Obviously, there are a number of wineries on the east side of Canada. Is this an area that the steel industry is pursuing? To me, every time I go and talk to a vintner, they often talk about orders from China. Maybe it's just feedback for your industry to consider, because that's a great Canadian option.

[Joseph Galimberti]

To be honest, this is the first time I've had a discussion about that product line. I'm sure if there's a commercial opportunity, our guys will seek it out. I give every credit to buyers who stick with Canadian products.

As president of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, I get six or seven solicitations weekly to buy Chinese steel. If there's an opportunity, we'll look into it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you very much.

Finally, it always ends up with Mr. Masse; you're taking us home. You have three minutes.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

I'll actually let our delegation do that really briefly.

I've always believed that manufacturing, the ingenuity behind it, is part of our national security for this country. It's not just the hard product at the end of the day.

Take 30 seconds each to convince Canadians why manufacturing has a future, if you believe so. I'm assuming you believe so. I'll throw it out to Mr. Christie first. This is your moment. Convince Canadians that you believe that manufacturing and your industry have a future for Canada.

[Iain Christie]

Because Canadian industry is winning and is competing globally and is generating prosperity from our creativity today.

[Joseph Galimberti]

I'll give you a specific-to-steel answer. It makes too much sense to produce steel in Canada. We have iron ore at our disposal, we have renewable energy sources galore in this country, we produce in a very environmentally responsible way. There's a tremendous benefit associated with localization from an environmental perspective. It makes too much sense to build wind turbines with Canadian steel as opposed to Chinese steel.

[Paul Lansbergen]

We are a large industry. We've been very competitive and ingenious throughout our history. We have abundant natural forest resources in Canada. As my colleague said, it would be a lost opportunity if we weren't maximizing the economic value, as well as all the other social values we get from the forest.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

I'd like to extend a sincere thank to our guests. It was extremely interesting.

Thank you everybody for a very productive session.

I call this meeting to an end.