Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's speech with interest. However, it is the strength of conviction that he demonstrated yesterday, particularly during a debate on similar motions at the Standing Committee on Finance, that I would like to highlight. That is the kind of spirit that we wanted to bring to this House.
At present, citizens throughout Quebec and Canada are looking for their government to take a dynamic approach to helping the manufacturing and forestry industries. I know that we are badly in need of a real industrial strategy, something that is lacking in the current government's approach. Nevertheless, we should realize that a few months ago we went through a period where the Minister of Finance said that everything was fine, everything was rosy and that since everything was going well in the energy sector, everything else, including the manufacturing industry, would take care of itself.
This morning, businesses launched a newspaper campaign asking for exactly the same thing we want—refundable tax credits, among other things, for research and development.
I would like to hear what my colleague has to say. Beyond the need for an industrial strategy, is it not important for the House to make a decision today, to vote on the report and force the government to actually put proactive measures in place—the measures proposed by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology almost a year ago and recommended by the Standing Committee on Finance? We are still waiting for the Minister of Finance to take action in this regard.
Do the people in his riding not expect much more than the $1 billion finally announced this morning, which we managed to separate from the budget? Now, that much has been accomplished. But should we not do much more than this and do it quickly?