Mr. Speaker, in October 1997 technology partnerships Canada gave nearly $9 million to Western Star Trucks. It was justified at that time on the basis that it would create more than 1,000 jobs across Canada over a 10 year period. Last June Western Star Trucks moved its manufacturing, engineering, customer support, operations and staff to Portland, Oregon.
Can the industry minister explain why taxpayer dollars are being used to subsidize the movement of Canadian jobs to the United States?