Quebec is, of course, the only province whose official language is French. So there are some vulnerable aspects. We support ongoing work on the regulations. We are in favour of the federal government being able to play a coordination role. Of course, it's not a done deal.
I visited the Alcoa aluminum smelter in Baie‑Comeau a few months ago. Aluminum is one of our strengths in Quebec. It's one of our strengths in Canada. People there told me they make ingots and send them to the United States, which come back to us as beer cans and aluminum foil. So I asked them why we don't do that in Canada. They said it would take a mill, which would be very expensive. They have done studies and, even if we had a single mill in Canada, no matter where, with a population of 40 million, it would not be cost-effective. So, yes, efforts must be made, and we agree that work needs to be done, but there won't be a miracle.
As to the unionization rate, it's about 40% in Quebec. It's about 20% in the other Canadian provinces. That is important to us. Freedom of association is also included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
I would also say that political choices have been made, with respect to alcohol, for instance. So it might be good to liberalize certain things. However, one of the reasons that the boycott of U.S. alcohol is working in Canada right now is that it's being led by publicly owned corporations. That's not just in Quebec. It's also the case in other provinces. That's why I say you have to look at the rationale underlying regulations. We need to work on that in greater detail.
I agree with the official from the C.D. Howe Institute that sustained effort is needed to get the right regulations in the right place.
That said, if we take the approach that there are too many regulations and that we have to remove some, we run the risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as the saying goes.