Mr. Speaker, in a debate like this one, that seems like a key question. We think it is a very dangerous strategy for a country to concentrate its efforts on a single industry or sector—as is currently the case with the oil sector. When the sector collapses, there is no other sector available to keep the economy running.
This means that we need to find a balance. For example, the defence and armament industry received more than $25 billion over two years. Last year, in a single week $17.5 billion was announced. As for the oil sector, I will not repeat the figures, but we are talking about $520 million in tax cuts according to the economic statement before us.
Our colleague is absolutely right: we need to find a balance. We must observe the Canadian economy as it relates to all its various components, in particular those in the manufacturing, forestry and tourism sectors, in order to strike a balance when it comes to our strategic initiatives and investments.
The manufacturing sector, as well as the automobile and aerospace sectors, need strategic financial support and financial initiatives that are very targeted when they are experiencing difficulties as they are now. We should not tell these companies that we will give them tax cuts when they are making a lot of money, as oil companies are right now. These companies do not need tax cuts. They need new money injected into a development and support strategy.