Thank you.
And good morning, everyone.
Let me begin by congratulating Patrick, Daniel, Juergen and your organizations for pulling together such an impressive event!
Not only are the speakers exceptional and the issues vital but the discussion is incredibly timely.
Before going any further, I also want to congratulate ArcelorMittal Dofasco on 100 years of leadership and innovation. I am sure that we can look forward to the next 100 years being just as successful!
Now, I am going to start right off the bat with a cliché. Politicians are often accused of speaking in slogans. And it's usually true. But it's also true that slogans capture important ideas and essential truths. I thought about that as I looked at ArcelorMittal's and Dofasco's slogans.
ArcelorMittal's is "transforming tomorrow." Transforming tomorrow. Not "looking to the past." Not "recapturing yesterday." But "transforming tomorrow."
Dofasco's slogan, of course, is one of the most iconic in Canadian advertising, "Our product is steel. Our strength is people." And, if you'll permit me a plug, Hamilton-based Kelly Advertising created that slogan—obviously a great local business.
It seems to me that in these two slogans we have the heart of the challenge— and the opportunity—facing manufacturers in this country.
Because the hard truth is that we have to look to tomorrow—to transforming how we do business. The old manufacturing economy is not coming back. And we must prepare for a future that is going to be very different from the past.
At the same time, the way we get there is by investing not only in new products or processes—important as those are—but also in people. That is where our strength really lies.
And both of these slogans—both of these ideas—are captured in the goal of this two-day event: "Adding Value." Because that's what the future of manufacturing in Canada is all about. That is what this has to be about.
And so today I would like to speak for just a few minutes about what our government—and what our business leaders—must do to make Canada the place where high-value-added manufacturing takes place.
I began by saying that this event is timely. The fact is discussions like these are critical. We meet at a time when the world economy remains fragile. When manufacturers face major challenges.
Our government understands these challenges. That's why we have focused on doing what only governments can do.
We took decisive action, through Canada's Economic Action Plan, to support the Canadian economy when the global recession was at its worst.
Our government provided vital support for the auto industry when it needed it the most. We invested to help avert the collapse of a broader ecosystem of parts suppliers and R&D. And we have seen a return on that investment.
And now, with the recession behind us and the world economic outlook still uncertain, we are working to strengthen Canada's position as a trading nation.
We are working to streamline the border and make it easier for Canadian businesses to trade with the United States.
We are improving access to our largest market and trading partner by announcing a new Windsor–Detroit bridge.
And, certainly not least, we are opening a Canmet MATERIALS facility, right here in Hamilton, to develop technologies that will improve products derived from metals and minerals and will make Canadian products global leaders.
We have also created a sound economic framework. Paying down debt. Lowering taxes. Reducing red tape. Promoting increased Canadian exports to global markets. And managing prudently.
The result? Canada has come through the economic downturn better than most. We're one of only two G7 countries to have recouped all of the jobs lost during the last recession.
Our debt-to-GDP ratio is the lowest in the G7. We're one of a very few countries in the world to have kept its triple-A credit rating. And we've set out a clear plan to return to balanced budgets.
All of this progress has not gone unnoticed. Both the IMF and the OECD project that Canada's economy will be among the leaders in the industrialized world over the next two years. And Forbes magazine named Canada the best country in the world in which to do business.
The Canadian economy is performing. And you'll notice I said the Canadian economy. We do not have two separate economies in this country—one based on resources and the other on manufacturing. We have a single, strong and mutually reinforcing economy spanning the country. An economy grounded in a solid fiscal environment that creates a key strategic advantage for manufacturers.
And giving Canadian manufacturers a strategic advantage matters because manufacturing matters.
You know the numbers. There are over 1.75 million manufacturing jobs in this country. There are 60,000 positions in research and development. This is not your grandfather's manufacturing sector. It is cutting-edge, innovative and strongly diverse.
Manufacturing is the top sector for foreign direct investment and provides more than 63 percent of Canadian merchandise exports.
Here in Ontario, manufacturing accounts for 15 percent of the province's GDP and a significant percentage of its employment. And for hundreds of communities across the country, manufacturing remains their economic lifeblood.
These numbers are important, but they don't tell the whole story. Because behind the numbers are jobs. Jobs that support families. Jobs that provide competitive wages and anchor communities. Jobs that drive innovation and productivity. Jobs that give us the capacity to create new products, processes—and possibilities.
We need to increase competitiveness. We need to increase productivity. And R&D is a great start. The manufacturing sector punches way above its weight when it comes to R&D investments. All told, manufacturers do almost half of all the R&D in Canada. Close to half!
And that's critical because in tomorrow's economy what will really matter is grey matter—the ideas, innovation and ingenuity that create new technologies, new products and new ways of doing things.
Manufacturing lies at the intersection of innovation and fabrication, where creative ideas are turned into commercial opportunities. That's why, beyond establishing sound economic fundamentals, our government has introduced measures that benefit manufacturers specifically.
We've lowered taxes. We cut the corporate rate from over 22 percent in 2007 to 15 percent today. And we've removed the federal capital tax.
We're eliminating tariffs on machinery and equipment, making Canada the first tariff-free zone in the G20. When we're done, this will mean savings of almost $400 million a year for Canadian businesses.
We extended the temporary accelerated capital cost allowance to 2013, helping manufacturers to restructure and retool and, ultimately, become more productive and more profitable.
And we've focused on reducing red tape so you can spend less time filling out forms and more time running your businesses and creating jobs.
I spoke a moment ago about innovation and why it's so important. The fact is innovation drives growth. It improves productivity. Raises our living standards. And it's the best way for a high-wage economy like ours to compete with low-wage countries around the world.
The manufacturing sector understands this better than most. Today's manufacturing is not about bigger factories but about smarter ones driven by digital technologies. New processes—such as additive manufacturing and digitization—are fundamentally changing how products get made and businesses are run.
At the same time, globalization means that manufacturing is now spreading across borders, across the globe. As a result, advanced economies have become leaders in the high-value-added stages of production. Canada is a crucial player in the global supply chain and must remain so if we are to succeed. In the face of this considerable change and increasing global competition, innovation becomes critical. Research and development becomes crucial. Developing new markets becomes imperative. And training workers in the skills they need is essential.
We are acting in each of these areas.
To spur innovation, our government has committed over $1 billion in the next five years by:
- Doubling the budget of the National Research Council of Canada's (NRC) Industrial Research Assistance Program;
- Refocusing the NRC on demand-driven, business-oriented research; and
- Providing funding for venture capital activities, including $400 million to increase private sector investments in early-stage risk capital.
We have also changed the Industrial and Regional Benefits Policy to ensure that government defence procurement generates high-value-added business for Canadian industry.
And our National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, announced in 2010, will result in Canadian ships being built by Canadian workers in Canadian shipyards. Of course, a key part of supporting manufacturers is ensuring that you have global markets for the goods you produce. That's why we've undertaken the most ambitious trade expansion plan in Canadian history.
Since 2007, the Global Commerce Strategy has led to new free trade agreements with nine countries, representing over 100 million potential customers.
We've also concluded or implemented foreign investment promotion and protection agreements with 11 countries and deepened trade ties with the largest, most dynamic markets in the world, including Brazil, China, India, Japan and the European Union.
In the case of the European Union and India, we've now gone to the next level, launching comprehensive free trade negotiations. And we've recently joined the Trans- Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement under negotiation by 11 Pacific nations.
This ambitious new trade strategy is important. It opens doors. Creates opportunities to sell more Canadian products abroad. And helps to position Canadian manufacturers for long-term prosperity.
Now, as I said at the outset, the real strength of any business—and the real key to the future success of manufacturing in this country—is people. This is one of the most consistent threads that ran through the round-table discussions I held with Canadian businesses across the country over the summer.
Because manufacturing is a high-tech industry, we need to have people with the skills and the know-how to be able to succeed. And not just on the factory floor. Today's manufacturing is also about the information technology specialists in the front office, the designers and engineers and accountants down the street, and the logistic experts and marketing staff around the world.
That's why our government has increased support for skills development.
We've provided a hiring credit for small employers that has lowered payroll costs by about $205 million and created jobs across the country.
We've created a targeted initiative for older workers to help them upgrade their skills and remain part of the workforce for as long as they want.
We're moving on foreign credential recognition, including an additional $5 million over six years to strengthen foreign credential assessment.
And we are boosting apprenticeship funding for tradespeople such as welders and electricians.
So a number of initiatives on a number of fronts. Taxes. Innovation. Trade policy. And skills development. All are key for manufacturing.
We know more can be done. I look forward to hearing your ideas on what we might do differently—or better—to further build and attract high-value-added manufacturing to this country. And to support it when it is here. I'd also like to know how you think we should attract more young people to manufacturing, making it a career of choice.
Because, at the end of the day, the future of manufacturing in Canada does not lie in Ottawa or Queen's Park, in Québec City or Victoria, or in some government program. It lies with you. We can have a vision for manufacturing. We can have a vision for the future. But we can't implement it without you.
You are the job creators, you are the innovators and you are the future of this strong and proud sector.
That's why events like this are so important. They bring together key players, foster discussion and encourage the cross-pollination of ideas.
By working together, by listening to and learning from one another, I am confident that we can capture the wisdom of the slogans we employ to develop the solutions we need. Transforming tomorrow with the strength of our people. Adding value. And creating a future for manufacturing in Canada that is brighter than we can imagine.
My message to you today is very simple: Advanced manufacturing contributes to the economic prosperity of our country, and together we can ensure that remains true well into the future.
Thank you.
