Mr. André, I will answer in English if I may since I'm not as good in French.
You've just identified the fundamental problems of any sector, any region, that has relied upon protectionism historically. It's a vicious circle. It's a vicious circle because the more you protect, the less competitive and the less innovative firms are, and the less they have to adapt to new technologies and the less they have to meet international competition. It really becomes a vicious circle, because you need to keep building the walls higher and higher to fight off the new competition. That's why we're trying to articulate a national strategy, a positive one, in our forthcoming report. Rather than protecting, let's invest. Let's invest in human capital, in human beings. Let's invest in new technologies. Let's invest in innovation. Let's allow our businesses to position themselves.
Clearly, sectors that are protected and that are also exposed to international trade need help; they need adjustment help. What they don't need is ongoing protection, which treats them as a welfare case.
It's very tough for the first generation of worker, I would argue, because often those people aren't well educated. They've been doing a fairly standardized job that doesn't require them to be creative thinkers, and they're being moved into a different world. Most economists are trained to say free trade is better because it keeps you on the cutting edge. I think most of us would also agree that if you're going to move any sector from protected to exposed in international competition, you have to help people adjust. You really do. In fact, you have to invest at least as much in adjustment as you do in pursuing freer trade. It's something we're going to talk about in great depth in our report.
I have great empathy for people in parts of our economy who are in things like textiles and furniture in Atlantic Canada, in rural Canada, in Quebec. Life was good as long as you hid behind the protectionist wall, but you know, the walls come down. We've seen the aggregate benefits from freer trade through the various WTO rounds. I think the key issue in fact is how to find positive ways to invest in human capital, ensuring that the kids coming into the school system can be as competitive as the Chinese are going to be or as the Americans are going to be. Then the adjustment for the existing workers is a key issue.
I'm not as keen to protect capital. I'm not particularly keen to protect the owners of capital, because they've seen the forces coming. I am much more interested in protecting the workers who are directly affected and in helping them to adjust.