Mr. Speaker, when we talk about natural resources, there is no doubt a certain argument that can and should be made in terms of those secondary jobs, trying to take it to another level of processing. I can appreciate that. I understand it. I want to fight for those jobs too.
Then there are natural resources that will leave our country in a raw form. We would argue ultimately that in an economy that is functioning well, both have their place in the world market.
If we try to follow the logic that has been presented by many of the speakers from the New Democratic Party, we would think it would be wrong to export a raw natural resource.
The province of Manitoba mines nickel and copper, among many other things, most of which do not have secondary processing that ultimately allows more value jobs, and Manitoba has a New Democratic government.
What is the NDP position on the overall approach to natural resources? Can we not export a raw natural resource, and if the answer to that is yes, then why not this one?