Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Ms. Doyle, for your presentation.
Discussing forestry resources is no simple matter, because this natural resource falls almost entirely under provincial jurisdiction. Therefore I can understand why it would be difficult for you to answer certain questions.
The federal government is involved extensively in R&D. These days, Quebec's forestry industry maintains that companies are shutting down their forestry operations because they are not profitable. When a company cannot make a profit, it has no money to invest in modernization or in R&D. Furthermore, when a company isn't making any profits, tax credits are more or less effective. To remain competitive, companies must invest extensively in R&D.
Aside from the forestry industry's long-term competitiveness initiative, how does Canada compare to other countries in terms of R&D? Do we compare favourably, less favourably, or not all favourably? How do we rate? Do we have a lot of ground to make up in order to sustain forest industry related R&D?