For a long time I've tried to answer that question from both sides: from the OEM and from the tier-one, tier-two and tier-three levels. Recently, I've changed my viewpoint. I think they actually have to be broken apart because they're two different strategies entirely.
Tier ones, tier twos and tier threes need to adopt more advanced manufacturing, which means they need to compete. That will help to grow that sector. I believe this agreement will actually help us to be able to strengthen those relationships because of the supply-chain integration we already have. Parts—and this is no joke—will cross that border seven times between the tier ones, tier twos and tier threes before they even get to an OEM.
The investment you make in that lower tier is actually exponentially growing, because we have access to all the OEMs. I believe this is the area that Canada can grow the most. The effect of a dollar from the government dropping into these lower sectors is actually multiplied due to the fact that we have access to all of these investments in the United States.
Investing in an OEM is good and shouldn't be abandoned—don't get me wrong—but they're only one brand. I have access to 44 different brands. It's a huge opportunity in that lower sector, so the strategy needs to be different. We've been trying to attack the strategy in the same way for both, but they're actually different. We need to adopt more advanced manufacturing to make us more competitive. We need to adopt more manufacturing foreign trade policies so that we can take advantage of more markets using the U.S. as a springboard. That's how you grow manufacturing in Canada in those lower tiers.
OEMs are actually a simpler but more complicated solution. They're looking for at least good fair-market access, which means more trade agreements, but they're also very cost-sensitive and there are some more difficult questions, which I don't think this committee is prepared to answer, in order to be able to make those decisions. I believe that at some point adopting a manufacturing policy that includes all aspects—advanced manufacturing, energy, labour, trade—is the way to attract OEMs.