Finance committee  Mr. Sorbara, that question is one that everybody has asked me. Our industry, or any other industy that's capital-intensive, needs certainty. Did we get a perfect deal? No, but we got a deal that gives us the certainty we need to ensure that the decisions for new investment can no

Finance committee  It's going to take more than just a free trade agreement. We continue to face competitiveness headwinds. Canada is one of the highest-cost jurisdictions in which to manufacture, so the question becomes how we can reduce our cost structures. For instance, the electricity rates in

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and good afternoon, honourable members. First and importantly, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the government on successfully concluding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement. It has been a tough and intense negotiation, and Minist

International Trade committee  First off, before I answer that question, a document just produced by the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council speaks to the future of the industry from the perspective of innovation in manufacturing, innovation in product development, and innovation in materials, and so forth

International Trade committee  Yes. I'd be glad to furnish that document, absolutely. It's a good one to look at. To your question, for example, cap and trade in Ontario imposes a cost on our industry that our competing plants in the United States do not have. Electricity costs are two to three times higher i

International Trade committee  It's within our own company. There's a pot of money for new investments, let's say on a North American if not global basis, and you and your plant, let's say in Ontario, have to make the business case that you can produce that product efficiently, competitively, and at the pric

International Trade committee  I would suggest that's a true statement.

International Trade committee  You hit the nail on the head. It has become a protectionist bloc. In order to compete, we have to look to other ways in which we can reduce our costs internally. It's about how we become more productive, which we've done. We have a great labour force. We have a highly educated an

International Trade committee  I'm sorry, to whom?

International Trade committee  Do they export to the...I don't know.

International Trade committee  I'm not sure of that.

International Trade committee  I'm sure there are. For our industry we source aluminum, steel, and other lightweight metals from smelters, like in Quebec for aluminum. They are a key source for North American production. Those countries presumably would want to also open markets for themselves in other countri

International Trade committee  We see currency manipulation as a principle in terms of what would constitute an effective trade agreement. In our view, all trade agreements should incorporate some means of currency disciplines. That's a fundamental principle of any successful agreement in our mind. I'm not say

International Trade committee  Keeping our existing manufacturing footprint is the key. Because we are one of the highest-cost jurisdictions, if not the highest-cost jurisdiction, in the world, keeping the costs down is pretty critical. We could be doing everything we possibly can, but if it's just simply too

International Trade committee  I'm not sure that's the case.