Industry committee  If you want to remain competitive, you have to be productive, We reinvest in our plants, refurbish those plants. We look for productivity gains, so automation, other processes—

Industry committee  So you know.

Industry committee  Absolutely.

Industry committee  With respect to vehicle manufacturers, assemblers, and parts makers, and Flavio can speak to that more eloquently than I can, I can say that the OEMs have multiple arrangements with universities, centres of excellence, and colleges across the country. They are focused on battery development.

Industry committee  CETA is something that was negotiated we think in the appropriate way, where they factored in the integration of the industry. We want it to move forward. We see that export markets exist. As for China, we're not sure. We all have plants there. I'm not sure where the Government of Canada is at this point.

Industry committee  If I may, I'll throw out a point of clarification. We're not looking for an exemption. What we're really trying to stress here is that if the federal government is attempting to ensure that there's equal challenge across the country in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and if they're going to establish the floor on a carbon price to do that, it really has to coordinate with those provinces that already have plans in place, such as Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia.

Industry committee  Suzuki is no longer here. When we say we're part of the solution, I'm speaking from an industry-wide perspective. All automakers are investing tremendous amounts of money in new technologies to improve fuel economy, reduce CO2 emissions, and reduce other smog-related emissions at the same time.

Industry committee  This requires a long explanation, but I'll try and be as brief as I can. We can take it offline as well. Clearly, the cap-and-trade program poses certain requirements on industry. This requires, from a manufacturing standpoint, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. What people don't understand is that, from a manufacturing standpoint, vehicle assembly is less than 1% of the total Ontario inventory, so we're not very energy intensive at all.

Industry committee  There's no question that until these most recent investment announcements we were certainly not getting our fair share. These new announcements of course don't mean it's a given. I think it would have to be clear that it's still incumbent upon governments, both federal and provincial, to come forward and do what they need to do in terms of supporting these potential new investments.

Industry committee  I think the answer is multi-faceted. In terms of the AIF, that fund, we have to remember that whether it's Mexico or any other country, the benefits of an automotive industry, economically speaking, are absolutely out of this world from a job perspective, a revenue perspective, and a contribution perspective, as a cornerstone of their economy.

Industry committee  That's right. It's taxed in the first year you receive it, in which case, when you expected x dollars, you're not really getting x dollars. You're getting x dollars minus whatever tax rate applies. You're not getting the full benefit of the fund or the loan, which is why we're saying that it should not be taxed.

Industry committee  That's a possibility. But at the same time, often when we get new equipment like that, while they may have service contracts, much of that service contract can be at times serviced by actual company resources. We obviously want to make sure we're not caught when we don't have somebody who can service them onsite or as quickly as possible.

Industry committee  Yes, on that very point, if I might, what we have, as I mentioned.... For instance, in a new product launch, the plant goes through a considerable renovation, and much goes into the logistics, the assembly line logistics and systems that are associated with that. Oftentimes the only real talent we have, or access to talent, is those parts of the global teams that actually have that responsibility.

Industry committee  Good afternoon, honourable members. It's certainly a pleasure to be here. I'm here actually representing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Canada, Ford Motor Company of Canada, and General Motors Canada. Together, these companies are responsible for approximately 60% of all the production in Canada.

Finance committee  Maybe I can speak at least to the auto industry. As I mentioned, first off, investment decisions are in the long term. The short-term impacts of the price of oil, for instance, aren't really major factors. If it tends to be a long-term trend, that may be a different story, and that long-term trend will make a difference.