Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  We actually have a workshop about this going on right now, as I speak. We floated a few ideas in the past, and the government had Bill C-8 in the past, which helped, but with the new economic conditions it's not enough. We plan to come to the transportation committee, if they i

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  This is not an either/or thing. I mean the American market is wonderful. It will become wonderful again: their population is growing; they're going to need houses. We've been monitoring the purchases of tents in the U.S., and they don't seem to be moving into tents! They're going

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  You're talking about all sorts of value-added innovative products, and certainly the money the government has given the research institute for transforming the industry will help with that. But Monsieur Chevrette is 100% right in saying the only way we're going to have value-adde

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  If you look at prices, it's pretty clear that there's no scarcity of forest products on the market. The price of lumber now is less than the price of a log to the mill gate. Pulp and paper prices are at historic lows. Monsieur Bouchard, I'm going to answer his question because

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  If it's foreign-owned it's subject to Canadian tax policy. So if they want to invest in Canada, I think we should say, “Welcome. Come invest in Canadian mills.”

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  Yes. Eighty percent of our mills are held captive by a single railway company. Since they're monopolies, they do what they're legally required to do and maximize profit for their shareholders. As a result, because they have monopoly powers, we get bad service and are overcharged.

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  It's absolutely necessary. When businesses can pay less for research, government support is very important. That helps us a great deal because, in future, we'll have to find new products and new ways of manufacturing those products. Our future depends on our ability to find them.

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  You're right that I'm not going to answer, simply because I'd rather it be referred to trade lawyers. It's easy to say this particular instrument is safe, until you actually look at the detail of it. I think Mr. Chevrette was quite clear that it's not loan guarantees as such, but

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  I am certain it can be done in a way that doesn't lead to countervailing action. Whether it's a loan guarantee or other methods of making credit available, I am certain of that. It's been done in the past and it will be done in the future. I haven't sensed any reluctance on the

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  We've always suggested that refundable SR and EDs should be for all manufacturing. That was the recommendation of this committee's report on manufacturing; it was a recommendation of Natural Resources. It's a beautiful instrument, because unless a company puts its own cash into

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  Our situation is so different from the automobile industry, and frankly, we feel we're in a much better position because we have been doing our competitiveness homework. We haven't been asking the government to freeze the status quo. It would be easy to interpret what's happening

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  That wasn't the gist of the question. What percentage of what the auto workers are getting would be fair? What percentage of the subsidy granted to the automotive industry would be appropriate?

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  Generally speaking, if you do an analysis of future demand and capacity to compete once global markets return, Canada is actually quite well situated. Our western lumber mills are right now among the most competitive in the world. The number of mills in eastern Canada that are to

Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors committee  Thank you. Let me congratulate the subcommittee on having chosen to do this. We certainly appreciate the interest. I represent the Forest Products Association of Canada, with members from coast to coast, in 70% of the forestry operations in Canada, including pulp and paper and

Finance committee  We don't have an official position on it. I can tell you that the provinces, for the most part, have been not as quick as the federal government in reforming their tax regimes, and we've been encouraging them strongly. We've also been encouraging what the Department of Finance is