Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is for Mr. Dupont. Earlier Mr. Oliver said the following: “Through funding we receive from Parliament, Natural Resources Canada is able to make a significant difference in our energy, forestry, and mining sectors.”
Right now, Canada's forestry sector has to fight against the powerful lobbies of the steel and concrete sectors; it is also faced with a stagnant construction industry in the U.S. and it has to cope with its loss of global competitiveness in the paper, wood and construction sectors.
Canada has an opportunity to emerge as a world leader in innovative products, which require investments in research and marketing and they include nanocrystalline cellulose, smart paper and conductive paper.
In your view, what impact will these drastic cuts have on the program? How does the government plan to support the forestry sector transformation now? We are talking about $550 million in cuts.