The intervention measures, which were aimed at rectifying the company’s structural weaknesses and guaranteeing its long-term viability, related to the establishment of a new management structure, the planning of an organisational chart appropriate to the manufacturing process, the downsizing and redeployment of the workforce, the negotiation of a new collective agreement, the reorganisation of the plants’ activities with the objective of optimisation, significant technical and IT modernisation, investment in a commercial department in terms of staff and marketing campaigns, the establishment of new distribution channels, the rebalancing ...[+++]between own funds and registered capital, adjustment of the debt ratio and the acquisition of a minimum level of liquidity.

Ms. Judy Wasylycia-Leis: Right, yes, and I think that should be clear, that we absolutely agree that any of these investments will not have the effect of creating an annual deficit or of preventing the Government of Canada from paying down the debt by a minimum of $2 billion a year, so there still is a contingency set aside (1245) Hon. John McKay: [Inaudible].our debt-to-GDP ratios.

Nonetheless, the economic effects of the ECSC steel research programmes in the 1980s have been evaluated quantitatively, with the conclusion that each ECU contributed by the ECSC to technical research in the steel sector has directly generated a minimum of ECU 22; if one adds to these ECSC funds those invested by enterprises, the ratio falls to ECU 13.

The Canadian Tourism Commission operates with private- and public-sector partners, leveraging every dollar invested at a minimum ratio of 1:1, in other words, doubling the federal government investment.