Industry committee  Absolutely.

Industry committee  Yes, sure. That's it. That's the most important thing.

Industry committee  To continue to follow the current process for a new border crossing as quickly as you can.

Industry committee  Overall, the most helpful thing could be.... The Regulatory Cooperation Council was initiated back in 2011. That was put in place really to remove differences in regulations between Canada and the United States in the interests of improving the competitiveness of industry and consumers, because ultimately consumers benefit.

Industry committee  I'll start. I mentioned a couple of things, including the AIF. We're very grateful for the fact that the fund has been extended, but now it's a question of how we can improve it from a tax treatment perspective. We read things in the paper that maybe the government's considering going to a grant structure.

Industry committee  Thank you very much for that question. I think what needs to be done here is this. From a policy standpoint, and ultimately a regulatory standpoint, governments, whether it's this government or any other government—and the continuity, by the way, is really important in terms of certainty for future investment decisions—have to look at it through a lens of the economic realities and benefits.

Industry committee  No. We pay all of it, which is really part of the issue.

Industry committee  We have to pay the global adjustment and whatever the industrial rate is for us in that location. We don't get any breaks at this point in time. It becomes a question of what Ontario is going to do to address that issue, not just for industry, but also for rural residents—I'm one of them—who are experiencing exceptional electricity rates right now that are not very affordable.

Industry committee  The companies I represent are evaluating this now, but I think the example you've given really is an indication of what a company needs to do to stay in business and competitive. That would be a perverse consequence of this initiative, but it speaks to what companies need to do to remain competitive.

Industry committee  That speaks amazingly to our workers, and to our facilities which are very productive, some of the highest quality, award-winning quality plants that exist. That speaks tremendously well for Canada.

Industry committee  There's a lot of things there. First off, I think with the federal government and Ontario, when you talk about exemption, I guess it would be Ontario that needs that exemption, in that sense. I think really what we're talking about is to recognize that there is a cap-and-trade program there, that they are imposing costs already on the price of carbon, and that should be sufficient at this point in time.

Industry committee  I'm not aware of any targets. We hire on the basis of need. Obviously, if we're expanding, whether it be in response to the need to produce a certain number of vehicles in our plants, then we will hire. Similarly, the same holds true for our supply chain, and they supply us, so if we're going all out....

Industry committee  Yes, officially that is correct.

Industry committee  That's the way it has always been. They have established their own associations. We don't represent Honda manufacturing or Toyota manufacturing, but I can say on manufacturing issues that we have many discussions. In many instances they support what we say with respect to manufacturing issues, but they're not officially members.

Industry committee  We do. We represent those companies which have been here for 100 years, supplying many high-paying jobs.