Merci beaucoup, madame.
Of course everybody agrees about the importance of investing to become more competitive. There's no problem there. But if we do become the marginal suppliers to North American consumers of softwood lumber, as this deal is structured for us to become, then we will have to close our mills before any of the U.S. mills close. And how much confidence do you think that will generate within the investment community? I would think less than it would generate in the U.S. And this is one of the purposes of this deal.
Indeed, we fully support the return of the duties that are contained in this deal. We would like to have 100%, obviously, but the deal as it stands says 80%. What we don't see in the deal, and what will probably not be in the deal, is how long it will take to get the money back. I said a few minutes ago that the best estimates we have from people knowledgeable about the customs service in the U.S. range from six to twelve months. This is a long time for companies that are hurting financially, some of which are on the verge of bankruptcy. There's no doubt about that. And this is why we suggested a long time ago that we needed some support. We're not asking for subsidies, obviously, but clearly, if this is money in the bank, which it is, then we should be able to finance the return of that money. That's what we're asking for.
As for the number of jobs lost over the past five or six years, I think that's a very large question. You know that our industry is a cyclical industry, so there are other factors impacting the loss of jobs. You've probably seen the same estimates I've seen. Certainly tens of thousands of jobs across Canada have been lost.