Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak in the House today to this important motion. It is becoming a pattern that we have seen in our manufacturing industries and textiles is the latest to get debated here in the House of Commons. Others in the past have been the auto industry and the aerospace industry. It is important to recognize this motion and the spirit of it and what has been recently happening.
What we have happening is a pattern of behaviour where we have to go from crisis to crisis in our manufacturing sectors across the country.
It is not that the introduction of these programs was not a good first step. It is the fact that they always come at the 11th hour and they always come without any real sustainability for the entire industry. The issue just kind of drifts off the table and then we do not see anything again until another crisis erupts.
What is troubling about what is happening today in our manufacturing sectors across Canada is that they are facing all these challenges. As I mentioned in my starting remarks, the auto sector is one of those industries that has been drifting and we still have seen no action from the government. What ends up happening is that the government, even when it is pushed into taking a position on something, will create a report or a report will come through at committee and the recommendations will be set and then they will just be discarded or put on a shelf to gather dust.
For the auto sector, that was recently done with the Canadian Auto Parts Council. Three years ago it was asked to come up with recommendations. The government came across as being very sincere when it said that it knew the auto sector was in trouble, that it knew the sector had problems with overseas and production issues related to other countries, that it knew technology was changing, and that it knew there were challenges in infrastructure, so it wanted the auto sector to come up with some solutions.
What has ended up happening, after two years of meetings with some of the biggest players in the industry and a report at the end of the day, is that the government, months later, has yet to move on the recommendations in the report. It is shameful.
A lot of those same issues face the textile industry.
We have a report on vested interest partners, absolutions, and nothing has come to fruition.
I was glad to see the minister respond, to a certain degree, in The Montreal Gazette when he said that this did not mean this industry was on the brink of extinction.
Although he said that the industry was not on the brink of extinction right now, the government will be investing haphazardly in terms of a one shot element. That is not good enough for the vested interest partners, for the people who have their jobs in this industry, nor for this nation that has to compete with other issues relating to this around the world.
Today I had the opportunity to meet with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. They have a 20-20 vision about building a vision for our future. They are talking a lot about the same issues that we are discussing here today. I want to read from the preamble of the submission they made. I think it is important because it ties in very significantly to the issues that we are debating here. I just want to read the first two paragraphs. It states:
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters embarked on our Manufacturing 20/20 initiative to create a blueprint that ensures the future prosperity of Canada's largest business sector. Entering into this landmark consultation, we were overwhelmed with the support of Canadian industry. After 98 meetings involving 2,500 manufacturers and stakeholders in communities across Canada, we heard virtually the same message from Newfoundland to British Columbia--business as usual is not an option.
Change is reshaping our industry, not only in Canada but around the globe at an unprecedented pace. The result is the emergence of a new paradigm of manufacturing where innovation instead of volume drives growth; where global business systems instead of production systems are employed; where companies do business not only across the country, but around the world and where competition is not among companies but in supply chains.
Welcome to the 21st century and the new age of manufacturing of global business. Welcome to the future
I think that is a good document because it actually highlights some of the things that we need, one being a national industrial strategy.
I know the Canadian Labour Congress has been pushing that issue. We had representations at a meeting here in Ottawa about four months ago that actually included members of all the opposition. However the government did not send a member. There was good representations among all political parties. We heard from the union and the labour organizations that put forth the challenges that we face.
When I met with manufacturers today, I heard a lot of the same stuff. In fact one of the delegates used the term “fairer trade”, something that we as New Democrats have pushed for a long time. They cannot compete with low cost wages that exploit workers, or in situations where safety issues go uninvestigated that put workers at risk or in environmental actions where post end products of waste management are not addressed. That is used as a subsidy to trump the Canadian workers.
That is wrong for a number of reasons. It is wrong for Canadians who are put on the streets or have to rely on a government supporting agency for a cheque, not because of their skill, not because of their dedication but because other people are manipulated, taken advantage of or work in deplorable conditions and do not receive a fair wage.
We are not helping those individuals either in the textile industry by allowing sweat shops in the world to go unchallenged to the degree that they have. We are not helping those individuals. Everyone around the world deserves a fair wage, not just the people in Canada.
We have to turn this around for our country. My colleague brought forward the issue of national pride related to the flag pins because there was a symbol involved. It does not matter if it is a pin or the Turner delegation. We had an emergency debate on the Ukraine. Two days later a delegation went to Ukraine bringing the face of Canada on hats made in China with the Canadian flag on the front. That says something is wrong about our symbolism. The made in Canada issue is something of which we need to be proud.
I know auto workers have run campaigns to buy domestic. At times people criticize them for that. They want to ensure that people understand that wages they receive in the procurement of those products pay for schools, health care and all kinds of initiatives.
The textile industry is one that deserves greater support. The things it can do are fantastic, not only in terms of places for people to work. It also brings pride to the manufacturing sector for all Canadians.
One recommendation on new technology is interesting and it has been talked about previously. It would be a step forward in helping the industry compete with other cross-subsidizations elsewhere. The recommendation is the tax treatment of businesses that provides an investment environment second to none in North America by implementing accelerated depreciation allowances for machinery, equipment and automated processes used in manufacturing and tax credits for investments in new technologies.
There has been a great deal of debate in Canada about moving to higher end newer technologies, about being innovators and all those things. If that is going to be our strategy, if we are going to put all of our eggs in the same basket, then there has to be recognition of the systemic way to ensure that newer technologies move through the R and D element and are on the shop floors at a quicker pace with higher turnovers to ensure that the jobs will be flexible and can adapt.
These are the types of things we can do to provide some flexibility. It is important for the government to take notice, not only of this debate but that of all manufacturing in Canada. This provides yet another example of a reason for a national industrial strategy, something that New Democrats support. We would like to see the government bring it forward so we have strong workers, a strong economy and there is a pattern dealing with success, not crises. We are seeking a national industrial strategy.