Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his outline of the economic situation vis-à-vis Canada and the United States.
However, he missed probably the most important factor in the relationship of our trade, and that is the relative positions of our currencies. Right now we are in a situation where the U.S. currency has been artificially enhanced through the falling commodity prices and the falling equity market.
We are likely to see the situation reverse. As the commodity markets improve, we will see the U.S. dollar fall and the Canadian dollar go up.
When we look at what is happening in trade between the countries, if we do not examine where the puck is going to be in a year or two with the currency, with the relative ability of Canada to sell into the United States, we are putting ourselves in a degree of difficulty.
When we talk about trade and protectionism today, it may be that we will want a different solution down the road when the economies of the world settle down, when commodity prices rise, when the U.S. has to bear the incredible burden that it has created for itself with its huge payouts to banks and with its huge stimulus program. These are factors that we have to consider today in determining how that relationship should work, whether protectionism or free trade, rather than simply looking at the situation today.
Does my colleague not agree that we need to look at where we will be? This very important factor that determines our trade and our ability to feed into the U.S. market is one of the things that has to be very much on our minds?