One of the issues the shipbuilders have had is this up-and-down cyclical approach to shipbuilding in Canada, and that up-and-down approach seems to have continued recently.
Back in December, the Minister of Defence gave some very strong signals that shipbuilding would be a major part of the stimulus program that was being formed for the budget, which came out in January. In fact, let me read you a couple of headlines. From the Red Deer Advocate, here is a headline from December: “Funding shipbuilding may be major part of stimulus program”. The Chronicle-Herald, from the beautiful community of Dartmouth-Halifax, said, “Shipbuilding may raise economic tide”. And then by February the headlines were these: “Canadian shipbuilders 'left in the doldrums'”; “No shipbuilding stimulus despite Tory promise in '08”; “Industry had been left waiting for plan”. Peter Cairns, the president of the Shipbuilding Association, said they have to shift their focus and just convince the government to move faster on projects it has already announced.
So there was great disappointment that there wasn't more for shipbuilding in the 2009 budget. There was $175 million, which in the scheme of things these days is not an awful lot of money.
I'll ask you a specific question. One issue that has come up a lot on shipbuilding is about combining the structured financing and the ACCA. This committee heard this: “Although the original intent was for the SFF and accelerated CCA to be mutually exclusive, the Committee also heard that Canada's international obligations do not prevent the two programs from being combined, should the federal government wish to do so.”
Is that something you will do for the shipbuilding industry?