Yes, thanks.

According to an analysis produced by the Institut du Québec, and more specifically by Alain Dubuc at HEC Montréal, approximately $6.75 billion has been invested by the federal government in the aerospace sector in Canada since 1956. I want to point out that this was not in the form of gifts; in fact, it was mainly by repayable loans.

Regarding annual funding in the last 15 years, the federal government allocates approximately $150 million in repayable loans. Compared to the contributions paid to other sectors of the economy, which deserve to be funded, of course, but which may not be strategic in the way that aerospace is, $150 million per year in repayable loans is not a huge thing. In fact, it is a somewhat small amount, and this attests to the government's limited ambition in this area.

What we are saying is that there has to be the will to support the sector. The government has a variety of tools at its disposal, including, obviously, tax credits. I will not start listing all the tools, but let us say they range from tax credits to repayable loans for starting up new aircraft families, and include equity participation.

I will give you a recent example. In Canada, we have the third-largest manufacturer of landing gear in the world, but it has been bought out by an American company, by an investment fund, which probably intends to do a quick sale of the company. Why? Because the company could not find the capital it needed on the public markets. Could the government have ensured the long-term development of this company, which was a Canadian and Quebec company, and kept it in Quebec and Canada, under a strategy and consultation about how to use the funding and the investments? I think this is something we need to look into.

So there is a set of potential measures, ranging from tax credits to repayable loans, and including equity participation. We do not want to nationalize the economy, but in some cases, given the market failures and long cycles that characterize the aerospace industry, we believe that we cannot simply leave it up to market forces. We need a strategic intervention by the government.

At present, there is $150 million in funding a year, on average, and that is insufficient. The goal is not simply to increase that amount again, it is also to adopt a strategic framework that will enable us to define investments and measures and direct them where they will have the greatest impact and bring about the most tangible benefits. This is one of the objectives of the last pillar of our policy.

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