Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saint-Maurice—Champlain.
I would like this to be a peaceful debate. Today we learned that Quebec exports were down 6% in the first three months of 2008, compared to the first three months of 2007. The 20 groups that have gone down include newsprint, ore, iron ore concentrates, trucks, road tractors, petroleum products, coal products and wood pulp.
Could the Minister of Finance tell me what message of hope the current budget can offer when these sectors are not generating a profit and will not benefit from the tax cuts? Would it not have been better to offer refundable tax credits to enable these businesses to invest in their productivity and their equipment, and to give them a chance to retain their share of the market?