Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by congratulating my colleague on his speech about the motion adopted on November 28, 2007. He gave an excellent presentation on how the report of the Standing Committee on Finance can benefit the Quebec economy and the manufacturing industry. For example, it is increasingly clear that our industries need to be more productive in the future and will need to upgrade their equipment.
However, my colleague did not really address the fact that making tax benefits more accessible to the manufacturing industry helps build a more sustainable economy in Quebec. Why? Because in Quebec, in certain sectors of economic activity—particularly the manufacturing sector—there are businesses with old technology. So they need more accessible tax benefits, such as refundable tax credits for research and development, and capital cost allowance with a two-year write-off, for a period of five years. For example, I was thinking about recommendation No. 2 from the report of the Standing Committee on Finance, which recommended a 30% capital cost allowance rate for rail rolling stock and locomotives.
Does the member admit that not only will this report help make the manufacturing industry more productive, but that it will also help change industrial processes, making our economy greener and more sustainable?