Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here. Your input is extremely important. I come from Oshawa, and you know our history of auto manufacturing. We have Gerdau just next door.
Some of the things I've been hearing, though, at the last few meetings are concerning. Canada seems to be the afterthought. We're being very reactive, and we've heard from witnesses here today about Canada's response. Well, there was a time when Canada was in the room.
As Mr. Volpe put quite bluntly, the IRA is a correction for build back better. Why are we wasting our time on corrections when we should be in the room to get it right in the first place? Mr. DiCaro mentioned that we have to start looking at ourselves as a continent as far as our competitiveness goes.
You brought the issues forward, and I would like to see what your thought processes are, because you talked about the gaps in programs and investments and the protectionism.
Mr. Kingston, because you represent somebody in my riding, I'll ask you this. How important is it for the government this Thursday to get a correction, as Mr. Volpe was saying, in the budget for our competitiveness going forward?