That is a good question.
I'll give my colleague some time to think.
I think we saw it coming. I don't think anybody was expecting it to be....
I don't believe that anyone was able to predict that the crisis which has struck us so quickly would be so severe. Especially if we consider the sources of growth for the Canadian economy over the last 5 to 10 years... But when we get back to the basics, an economy grows when we create value. Value emerges from the creation of value-added goods and services.
The manufacturing crisis did not occur overnight. The peak in employment was reached at the end of 2002. Since 2003, Canada's manufacturing sector has undergone significant restructuring. There were rather important problems. Your colleagues from the industry committee have delved into this issue extensively.
In recent years, a good portion of our economic growth was due to high commodity and energy prices which, in a way, inflates our figures on exports and economic growth. The fast appreciation of the Canadian dollar struck our goods and services exporters very hard. This had a direct impact on profitability, as the statistical data shows.
We saw it coming. It was just a matter of time before reality struck us. We were very much aware of what was happening to the real estate market and the boom in energy and commodities was not going to last forever. What would remain once everything tumbles? Manufacturing and production of value-added goods and services. Today people realize that these sectors are the pillars of our economy. We have to be concerned. We have to make sure that businesses are successful and are able to develop new markets outside of Canada and North America.