Industry committee  Thank you.

Industry committee  On your specific points, we'd be happy to provide you with more specific information and follow-up. We certainly support the proposal, for example, that the CME has put forward in terms of an accelerated writeoff of capital investment. And we'll provide you with additional information on the other issues.

Industry committee  On the issue of consolidation, the rationales for consolidation vary. In some cases, where there is over-capacity, it's a way to get greater economies of scale and to take some capacity out where the market demand is shifting. In many cases, it's an opportunity to develop new products and new services.

Industry committee  We think that's very important. We are willing to work with governments at the community level to facilitate adjustment and transition for workers. There are many good models from the past that we should look to, where that's happened, with all levels of government working with the industry.

Industry committee  We are in a period where industry must deal with challenges of a scope that it has not seen for 30 or 40 years. There is currently a convergence of factors that is forcing the industry to do what it can. to regain its competitiveness. This means increasing productivity in whatever ways it can.

Industry committee  As Shawn said, the industry has generally adopted a regional approach based on the education infrastructure and regional needs as they arise. Our companies are doing a great deal in that regard, by providing bursaries and programs to draw local students. The industry is also offering internships, and a whole host of local activities to encourage and support young people who want training.

Industry committee  We see ourselves as an industry that produces useful, sustainable, high-quality products that are produced in the most sustainable way possible. We treat our workforce with great respect. We take these decisions with difficulty, but we see this as a great Canadian industry that has been through periods of change and transformation before and will continue to be a great Canadian industry that we can all be proud of.

Industry committee  It's approximately 11,000.

Industry committee  There have been a number of examples of mergers in the early part of the decade on the pulp and paper side of the industry, and most recently on the solid wood side of the industry, that the bureau scrutinized very closely. In many cases, the bureau imposed conditions on the merger.

Industry committee  In my view, it would be easier right now for a Canadian forest products industry to be taken over by an international company than to merge with another Canadian company. That is really the dilemma, because as you know, when the head office migrates somewhere else, there are a lot of jobs and economic activity going with it.

Industry committee  A steady increase in the interest rates in the U.S. would likely lead to a further deceleration of the housing market. It will make debt-financed housing, which is what most of us rely on, more expensive.

Industry committee  The decision to close any facility is a very difficult one for a company. Our companies are well aware of the difficulties it creates for their employees and for the communities they live in. When we look at the Scandinavian example, one of the things the Scandinavian countries did in the early 1990s and through the 1990s was to consolidate and rationalize their production into larger, more efficient, more productive mills, which they're benefiting from today.

Industry committee  I think the trade policy frameworks are a critical aspect of this. We still face tariff barriers in many countries, particularly on the solid wood side, while they've mostly been eliminated for pulp and paper. Emerging economies like India, where there's tremendous potential for paper exports, still have high tariff barriers.

Industry committee  About half.

Industry committee  Most predictions on the pine beetle wouldn't predict that we would actually lose our industry, but that we're going to have quite a significant surplus of wood over the next 8 to 10 years. After that, our annual allowable cuts will shrink considerably. So it will still be a vibrant industry, but smaller once the mountain pine beetle wood has been felled and processed.