Industry committee  There is no doubt that effort was made both at the federal and provincial levels. That cannot be denied. But that is not the issue. The needs and the conditions in many cases, and particularly the magnitude of the problem, are the real issue. I referred to the program you announced not long ago.

Industry committee  That is quite a question. One thing is for certain, and that is that all the parties in our industry are closely connected. You mentioned the small businesses, the suppliers and the customers of our different companies. The future of one depends very much on the future of the other.

Industry committee  There are different markets, of course. Let's take the example of furniture. I don't recall who alluded to this, but it was mentioned that logs are purchased in Canada, taken to China and that the products are then sold back to us more cheaply than what we can ask. That is the reality.

Industry committee  That's right. In fact, China is causing us some problems, because the Chinese have largely focused on recycled fiber. They have penetrated our traditional newsprint markets using recycled fiber, such as what we produced in Gatineau. They have created a demand for paper that is not necessarily of a high quality—in other words, for unsorted paper.

Industry committee  At the present time, the CIFQ, in partnership with the Government of Quebec, is developing a vision of how our industry can be transformed. It deals with restructuring and the direction we need to move in. Mr. Boivin's comments are very much in keeping with that. So, there is a need.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Mr. Chairman, when you look at the Canadian forest industry as a whole, it is clear that operations are located in villages scattered here and there. These are isolated populations. I think we're talking about 800,000 jobs in Canada. It is one of the main industries in Canada that needs to be protected.

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  The industry developed in the 19th century.

Industry committee  The speed at which markets changed surprised us a little. Since this morning, we have been talking a great deal about newsprint production. In the 1990s, that production could easily have represented almost 60% of overall paper production in Quebec. Afterwards, some diversification occurred in terms of paper product production.

Industry committee  In the Quebec forest industry, we have serious structural problems. We developed based on a certain paradigm requiring that we process certain volumes. We are still trying to maintain our competitiveness by focusing on reduced costs, large volumes, and therefore, economies of scale.

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting the Quebec Forest Industry Council, or CIFQ, to appear before the committee. I would also like to extend the apologies of our CEO, Mr. Guy Chevrette, who had a prior commitment and asked me to replace him.