Thank you for that.
You raised a number of important issues. One of the issues we're dealing with is timing. I think Mr. Grenier would agree that if an agreement is signed in February and we're in March asking how much benefit have we seen....
Normally when we look back at NAFTA and what not, we have the trade statistics that have come in through Statistics Canada over a considerable length of time. We'll be able to look back and see what happened to the trade statistics quarter by quarter or year by year and get a sense of whether or not any kind of dip turned around. There are so many other factors, it's going to be difficult.
Did we know what we were looking for? I believe the negotiators did know what they were asking for. Did it help? We know for sure that it hurt. During the period when Canadian companies were restricted, we know there was pain. We know there were layoffs. We know organizations were forced to set up manufacturing facilities in the United States.
The real question is, in the coming months will we be able to protect jobs and create new jobs? Remember, this is a temporary agreement. We're only talking about the stimulus, and we have just a few months left. We're hopeful that if nothing else, we'll be able to stop the bleeding, because there were a lot of jobs that were going down to the United States.
Regarding municipalities, I would like to point out one quick thing. The restriction that is harming some Canadian companies of $7.8 million was put in place in part at the request of the provinces. They wanted to be able to protect their local markets for local opportunities. It cuts both ways.