My first question is more specifically for Mr. Labbé.
In your presentation, one piece of information really bothered me. It is not your fault, because those are the facts.
I had the opportunity to work for a while with Maisons Laprise. In my riding alone, we have small and medium-sized businesses such as Goscobec, Maisons Ouellet, Art Massif and LINÉAIRE-ÉCO-CONSTRUCTION. The expertise of the people in my riding means that we can build both a small $30,000 cottage and a luxurious $4 million house.
Most of them even have patents. We were talking about added value. The prefabricated and modular homes are a great example of that. In terms of the numbers, I knew there was a significant drop in the two years after the 2008 crisis. When people don't have money, they will not often build houses.
However, we are seeing some recovery. But your figures are showing that, despite the recovery, we are facing a trade deficit, meaning that we have been importing more than we have been exporting in the past three years. This trend seems to be significant. I don't understand this situation. Having worked for Maisons Laprise and being friends with people from Art Massif and LINÉAIRE-ÉCO-CONSTRUCTION, I know the people in that sector well and I don't understand what is happening.
Could you shed some light on the issue and explain this trend to me?
Furthermore, in light of the expertise and resources that we have, can we do something smart to reverse this trend?