Industry Committee on Oct. 3rd, 2016

[Michel Gérin]

It's not really an issue.

[Jeffrey Astle]

Europe has European patents, for example. You can get a single patent that's effective in a number of European countries, but it still has its issues. They continue to try to improve that system. I mean, there's getting the patent and there's enforcing the patent afterwards. It gets very complicated. When one of the countries jumps out, it gets really complicated.

[Michel Gérin]

It's simply a strategy that the client will work on with their patent agent. The client will say they're thinking that their competitors are in this and this country, and they need to protect their invention. The response will be, “Okay, based on the application we prepared here in Canada, we'll correspond with our associates in that country and we'll get you those patents. We won't get you more than you need; we'll just target those.”

The idea is that you're targeting only the countries where there's a risk that somebody is going to copy your product or sell a copy of your product, and so you do it that way. That's the way the system works now.

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Thank you. How much time do I have left?

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

A minute and a half.

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Turning to the furniture industry, first of all, I want to congratulate Quebec on the quality of its furniture. I'm celebrating my 38th wedding anniversary this Friday. We've had the same bedroom furniture since then, much to my wife's chagrin at times. I keep telling her it's perfectly good; we're not getting new furniture.

[Pierre Richard]

Congratulations to you.

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Thank you.

In relation to that, do past trade agreements protect the Canadian furniture industry? Do you know what impact on furniture the trans-Pacific trade partnership could potentially have if it were signed?

[Réjean Poitras]

I believe it would have very little impact on the furniture industry. That's not where the game is for us.

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Would more promotion and markets beyond Canada help the furniture industry, or are you just looking at the U.S. potentially?

[Pierre Richard]

We surveyed our members on this matter. A number of our members actually were exporting to Europe. Today we have very few. It's very costly to play in the European market. Also, there are a lot of barrières non tarifaires. Therefore, the American market is the market of choice for our exporters. That's why 94% of what we produce and sell abroad goes to the States. There's very little interest in foreign markets at this point.

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Dan Ruimy]

Thank you very much.

We're going to go to Mr. Baylis.

You have seven minutes.

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Hello. Welcome.

You spoke about a problem with qualified labour. Could you comment further on this? Do you have any suggestions for the federal government on how to improve things?

[Réjean Poitras]

Labour skills, and therefore training programs, are a problem for the labour force in general. There are important issues concerning the technical training that schools could offer. An even more important issue, including for my business, is labour availability. My two businesses are located in regions where the unemployment rate varies between 4% and 5%. We have just invested to expand one of our plants, and we won't be able to go further unless there is labour available.

From my point of view, I don't think it's right that in Canada and even in Quebec, there are so few incentives to take labour from regions where the unemployment rate is 10% and send those unemployed workers to regions where there are a lot of jobs available and the unemployment rates are still very low.

Obviously, there is also the whole question of labour force training. Just the same, we manage to do things using the existing programs. It's hard, but we manage just the same.

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Is this training at the university or college level?

[Réjean Poitras]

For furniture industry plants, the training involved is actually technical training. For our part, we can provide on-site training for employees who want to work. There are positions for managers, engineers, and other positions of this type that we manage to fill. In the Quebec City area, it's hard, but we still manage to find people. Labour availability is the most important issue.

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Where exactly are your plants located?

[Réjean Poitras]

We have one plant located one hour east of Quebec City , and the second plant is one hour and forty-five minutes east of Quebec City, near Rivière-du-Loup.

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

So these are really rural challenges.

[Réjean Poitras]

Exactly.

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

For these plants, there is a labour shortage.

[Réjean Poitras]

It's the same thing in the whole Quebec City region, in the Chaudière-Appalaches region, in Beauce. Many manufacturing businesses are facing this problem of labour availability. I am certain that other regions are experiencing the same problem, in Toronto, for example, or elsewhere in Canada. This problem exists in the rural setting, but it probably exists elsewhere.

[Frank Baylis, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Let's assume this problem exists elsewhere. Do you want the government to encourage people to move?

[Réjean Poitras]

The employment insurance program should encourage people to move. The people who live in an area where the unemployment rate is high must, at some point, decide to contribute to the economy by going to work somewhere else, instead of living at the expense of government institutions, whether it's employment insurance or another program. The citizens must—