Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the hon. member for telling us about the difficulties the forestry crisis is causing in the Maritimes. We see that the problems are identical and that we agree on one thing: the need for economic diversification of forestry regions. This was a program that was abolished by the Conservatives in 2006.
I would like the hon. member to elaborate and say a few words about what the government would be like if laissez faire were not its recurring theme. We know this government likes to buy things. Why does it not promote Canadian companies in its procurement contracts?
When it received unexpected aerospace contracts to the tune of $17 billion, which is unheard of in Canada, why did this government fail to use strictly Canadian companies? Why did it not insist on spinoffs for Quebec, where aerospace represents 60% of the Canadian industry in that field? Is this not another example of leaving our companies in the lurch when they are trying to cope with the vagaries of the rising dollar? Could we have some perspective?