Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for being here. Of course you know you have our support. We're very much free traders.
However, I do want to talk about competitiveness. You mentioned today we seem to be competitive, but major policy changes are coming, and I want your comments on that.
Frankly, as well, I found your metaphor at the beginning a little insensitive. In Oshawa this week we found out that we were going to be losing 2,800 jobs, which means we're not going to be exporting anything from Oshawa. Bridges go both ways, not just one way.
The United States is going to be losing 3,600 jobs and Mexico zero. To put it in perspective, the Americans have ten times our population. With the multiplier effect, that would be like 28,000 jobs, and I think Mr. Trump would even be a little louder if that were the case.
Frankly, businesses need clarity. I'm going to try to get some clarity from you today, sir.
When we're talking about competitiveness, one of the biggest things we've heard around this table is the cost of energy. I know the Prime Minister is committed to a carbon tax as his major way of getting to those commitments in Paris. The United States and Mexico don't have that same policy, and just last month, the United Nations reported that governments would need to impose up to $5,500 per tonne of carbon tax by 2030—$20 a tonne is not going to do it.
Businesses need certainty. They need to understand what their costs are going to be, because companies don't invest billions of dollars in plants for a six-month investment.
I know investments in the auto industry are going out to 2030. Very simply, I'm hoping that maybe we can reverse that decision in Oshawa.
I was wondering if you could be very clear: when will your government be increasing the carbon tax to $5,500 per tonne, or what are your proposed increases, so businesses can know?