Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Welcome to our witnesses.
Not to pursue this to the end of the world, but maybe we could have a little more discussion on the shipbuilding policy. Mr. Stewart-Patterson, could we get your comments, and Mr. Laurin's as well, on the ability to pursue this issue outside of the agreement?
You know, I've met with shipbuilding associations for the nearly 12 years that I've been a member of Parliament, and consistently they've asked for a number of things. They've asked for improvements to the accelerated capital cost allowance, as did industry and business. As a government, we made those improvements, and the former government made improvements to it.
The other issue they asked for, and it was very legitimate, was an improvement to the structured financing facility. An extra $25 million has been put into that. You reiterated that there's three years where nothing changes and then there's a 15-year phase-out. That's the greatest phase-out ever negotiated by Canada in any free trade agreement at any time.
I think somewhere along this line we have to ask ourselves the question. Certainly we recognize that other countries, Norway in particular, had a lot of assistance to their industry over the years, but that assistance stopped three or four years ago. We're protecting our industry for 15 years, and at the end of that 15 years, quite frankly the playing field should be level.
I said this at the last meeting, but Mr. Garneau wasn't here. I think it's incumbent upon us to have some faith in our shipbuilding industry. Canadian industry has adapted to changes worldwide. We're competitive in any market and any marketplace in the world. We've given them the protection they need to get to that point. Plus, there's $35 billion of procurement on the table over the next 20 years that will go to Canadian shipyards. That doesn't have to go to foreign marketplaces; it's government procurement.
After $35 billion worth of procurement, changes to the tax rules, and 15 years--