The current recession seems to be highlighting the magnitude of a problem that we've known about for a long time. The challenges faced by an industrial sector trying to adapt to the consequences of globalization continue to be alarming. Our governments are trying to respond to these challenges while simultaneously looking for a way out of an economic crisis. However, the use of inefficient or outdated methods could only make matters worse. That's why we are calling on all these well-meaning officials to take a step back and take a more pragmatic approach. Figuring out when the recession will end is less important than positioning ourselves to make the best of the eventual recovery.

As the economic slowdown persists and jobs continue to be lost, we found out last Thursday that December 2008 saw Canada's first trade deficit in nearly 33 years. Experts and politicians tried to sound reassuring by maintaining that the current economic crisis will be less severe than the ones endured in 1982 and 1990. However, Statistics Canada recently published international merchandise trade data indicating that new solutions must be found if we want to build a society that can adapt to the global environment and meet the needs of the local population. 

These figures – which were not widely covered in the media last week – send a clear signal. Canadian exports dropped 9.7% vs. December 2007, and we reached our lowest trade surplus with the U.S. since 1998. Less than a year ago, Canadian industry was dealing with a very strong dollar and extremely high energy costs – a situation that was greatly detrimental to exports. Today, with the drop in oil prices as well as in American and European consumer demand, Quebec must reinforce the export potential of its society's expertise and move towards a more sustainable economy. We have to take a sober look at the situation and realize that the more we delay these new measures, the more brutal the adjustment will be – though one way or another, this adjustment will happen.

The Réseau des ingénieurs du Québec, which represents Quebec's 57,000 engineers, came to some conclusions as early as the fall of 2007 when it published a study called Outiller notre secteur manufacturier pour relever les défis de la mondialisation. At that time, the RéseauIQ had several concrete and realistic solutions to propose to our public officials, ranging from free trade with the European Union to the undertaking of major collective projects. Infrastructure work, sustainable transportation, and policies that favour industrial innovation are part of a wide range of measures we can take to increase our capacity to develop a new economy and penetrate new markets with exportable expertise. 

Since that time, governments have come forward with several noteworthy initiatives including the abolition of the capital tax and a Quebec government action plan called Pour un secteur manufacturier gagnant – both of which were steps in the right direction. However, responses to the current economic context (most notably industry bailout plans and announcements of major infrastructure projects) will allow old-economy companies to survive a while longer, with no insistence on concrete measures to make the fundamental changes that will ultimately become inevitable. In the absence of a context allowing us to leverage our durable expertise, we remain stifled by insufficient exports, which will only affect us more deeply and more quickly than we can foresee. 

This is why we are proposing the organization of a major industrial summit, which would allow Quebec companies, governments and other stakeholders to start implementing a strong and coherent industrial policy. The present situation offers an opportunity to build a better future. Now is the time to grab the wheel with both hands.

This text was written as an open letter to the media and published in the newspaper Le Devoir on February 24, 2009. An abridged version was also published in the Métro newspaper.