Madam Speaker, one of the things mentioned by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport was that this is a milestone step, but I think that opens up the debate we need to have today to tell Canadians how important this industry is, what is happening to it and why we need further aerospace policies.
Since 9/11, over 35 major airlines across the world have declared bankruptcy. They were from Switzerland, Peru, the U.S.A., Italy, Finland, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Australia and France. This is something that affects all industries across the world. Major airlines like United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have been going through this process.
What we have to recognize here is that it is not necessarily just a Quebec issue. I think that sometimes it is being seen as that. For example, 33% of aerospace jobs are in Ontario and 4% in Nova Scotia. As well, Manitoba has around 7%.That is a significant portion. There is some diversification of the industry and it is very important for all of it to be successful.
The big issue is that the industry right now has a trading surplus of around $5 billion, which comes back to this country in significant wages for employees and also for their communities, whereas the pharmaceutical industry has a deficit of over $5 billion. We are watching ourselves lose money on that front.
I would like to ask the hon. member to compare the two scenarios and how that fits in with a debate on aerospace policy. We have one industry that contributes to a $5 billion surplus and another industry that is costing Canadians over $5 billion because more is actually shipped in and more jobs are exported for other nations.