Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, witnesses.
Mr. Lexchin, my first question will be for you. I come from a manufacturing base in Windsor, Ontario, and we remember during the election when Prime Minister Trudeau said that we needed a transition out of manufacturing. We had a collective gasp down here, because we've been fighting for our auto industry. Meanwhile across the river in Detroit, they've put $16 billion into auto in the “platinum age” as I call it, with new electrification and so forth. We are slowly catching up, with only a few billion dollars across our entire country.
Our tool and die mould-making industry almost went bankrupt, but we transitioned into aerospace from auto, and we keep auto and also medical devices.
My question specifically to you is this. Do you think there is still capacity in our country to build a manufacturing facility, as you have advocated for? I see it plain and simple down here that we can still do this. We switched to PPE at Ford and Hiram Walker distillery switched as well, but we have to have the political will to do so.