Industry committee  The street I'm referring to is Bay Street, the Royal Bank--those institutions that are our lifeblood.

Industry committee  Thanks for the question. I think you cited some numbers that are very true. These have been a very tough couple of years for the industry. You're very well aware of your riding, as are a number of other members around this table whose ridings have been directly impacted by what's happened to this industry, and of course our industry is not unique in the general economy more broadly.

Industry committee  What I know is that our members are behaving by the rules of the law. If you want to deal with all the different pieces of legislation that are out there and amend them, I think that's certainly the prerogative of the committee. What our members would like to do is remain healthy, continue to grow, continue to access new markets, and service the existing markets.

Industry committee  Mr. Rota, thank you for the question. I don't think I said that.

Industry committee  I'm sorry. We'd like to keep both, and the way to do that is to ensure that companies are healthy and have access to capital.

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. Essentially, as in my answer to Mr. Rafferty, this industry is a capital-intensive industry. Beyond the cost of the fibre and the energy that goes into making the product, we need to invest heavily into new equipment and new machinery, and that's in the existing product lines of pulp, paper, and lumber.

Industry committee  I will answer you in English because I want to be very clear. First of all, in our view the government has been extremely supportive of the industry. Throughout this entire crisis, they've gone to great lengths to find ways to support the industry, and we are very grateful for that.

Industry committee  --but what I will say is that our goal is to make sure we continue to--

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is a great pleasure to be here with you today to discuss this topic. The Forest Products Association of Canada is the national trade association that represents Canada's integrated pulp, paper, and lumber producers. The industry at large represents about 12% of Canada's manufacturing GDP.

International Trade committee  Yes, absolutely. Thank you for that question. You're exactly right. What's happening in Europe is that governments develop procurement policies for their own purchasing habits and they tend to be done behind closed doors and without any open process. You end up having--whether it's intentional or not is a question--non-tariff barriers being put in place.

International Trade committee  Well, penalties probably would be extreme. I think you would want to have an open process, because a penalty would require that somebody has done you an ill.

International Trade committee  I don't think we're saying that. I think what we're saying is to have an open process for how you develop the policies and then have experts come to testify if you feel the policies are restrictive in some way, and hopefully that can have them amended.

International Trade committee  This is a very difficult question. I will answer you in English, if I may.

International Trade committee  I want to make sure I give you a proper answer. Absolutely. We've lost a lot of jobs across the country—there's no question. Some of the restructuring in the industry was necessary. We had an industry that had overcapacity; that was a result of our industry growing quite quickly and not having enough competition abroad, and a low Canadian dollar.

International Trade committee  Yes.