Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'll quickly come back to the aluminum example I was talking about earlier. Back home in Saguenay—Lac‑Saint‑Jean, we just finished refurbishing an aluminum smelter that cost $2 billion to switch from one technology to another. Hydroelectricity provides a huge competitive advantage for aluminum smelters such as Rio Tinto.
So we wanted to make sure, collectively, that we would get the maximum benefit possible for our region. A maximization committee was set up so we could ask equipment manufacturers to prepare for what was going to happen in order to meet Rio Tinto's needs. We didn't want the company to use equipment manufacturers from outside the region. Similarly, the Bagotville base is located in our region. It will be receiving fighter jets, probably F‑35s, and it will have to upgrade its facilities.
Within your agency, will you take the same approach of setting up a maximization committee so that people in the community, which is close to the Bagotville base, can benefit as much as possible from the investments that will be made?
If they are not able to provide the services, it should at least be people from Quebec or the rest of Canada who provide those services.
I would like to hear more about how your agency will operate. I hope you will have that sensitivity and that there will be better communication with people in the community to see what they can offer for equipment manufacturers, service providers and supply chains.
Will there be something like that?