Finance committee  Why don't I take a crack at that? First off, cement is a powder. It's a finely ground powder, and cement only goes into concrete, which is sand, water, and gravel, at a 7% to 10% ratio. When we make cement, we produce approximately 750 kilograms of greenhouse gases per tonne of

Finance committee  Thank you very much.

Finance committee  Thank you very much. Let me be direct. Cement and concrete are a sustainable and critical component to rebuilding and developing Canada’s infrastructure. Durable, safe, energy efficient, and resilient in the face of diverse and changing climate, cement and concrete are a key bui

Finance committee  The answer is yes, we should be looking at the cradle-to-grave, life-cycle costing. Asphalt pavement, for example, lasts between five and seven years. Concrete pavement lasts between 35 and 50 years. When oil is at $70 a barrel or less, we're not competitive on first cost with as

Finance committee  I couldn't put an exact figure on it, but if you just look at the Champlain Bridge in Montreal, for example, that's a billion dollars. I thought about coming prepared with my David Letterman top 10 list, and I'd be happy to provide you with that. But if you just look around the c

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members. It's a real pleasure to be here today and to provide the cement industry's thoughts and perspectives on the upcoming budget measures. Given the critical importance of our nation's infrastructure in maintaining jobs, promoting economic growth,

Finance committee  Yes, Holcim Canada is located in your constituency. We're aware of those numbers. And we're also aware of the tremendous pressure on governments with deficits right now to spend more and more money on infrastructure. But we are aware, in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Br

Finance committee  What we found was that in year one of the stimulus package, most of the money went to architects and engineers and environmental assessments. We only started to see the benefits of the economic stimulus package at the beginning of this year. We had forecast a growth of 9% in ceme

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Szabo. I certainly appreciate where you're coming from, since you have a cement plant in your—

Finance committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My name is Michael McSweeney and I am the president of the Cement Association of Canada. You'll know most of the names of the cement companies around Canada. They're Cal Portland, Ciment Quebec, Essroc Italcementi, Feder