Thank you, Mr. Bezan.
Welcome, gentlemen.
During your presentations and your responses, you raised concerns about the shipyard industry, that is, how to keep them active and solvent in the long term. You also raised concerns about national defence and public safety. You said that you are proud and happy to be part of the defence of Canada and the security of our country and of Canadians.
What I'm interested in is icebreakers. I know they aren't included in the national shipbuilding strategy. But looking at the situation from a global perspective, icebreakers provide commercial security, if only for the St. Lawrence Seaway, which has traffic equalling $2.4 billion annually. With direct and indirect spinoffs, this represents almost 5% of Canada's GDP.
Icebreakers also provide public safety, whether it involves ice backup in Quebec City or ice overflow in various major rivers, like the Saint John River in New Brunswick, or in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec.
The St. Lawrence Economic Development Council, or SODES, in Quebec City, which is the chamber of commerce for all large shippers in the world that operate in Canada, the Government of Quebec, and a number of people I met over the holidays told me they feared that a crisis was imminent.
We have 14 icebreakers: six large and eight medium. The six large icebreakers used for transportation on the St. Lawrence Seaway are in a state of almost inactivity. The two largest are currently in dry dock for repairs, and the remaining four will likely be soon. There is a risk of a dramatic crisis in the Atlantic provinces, in Ontario and in Quebec.
Does that concern you? Are you concerned about that? What do you have to say to us about the potential crisis concerning icebreakers, which I think could create a long-term crisis in your industry?