And we are definitely enjoying a rising economic tide that appears to be lifting all suppliers. In the US the industry average finance rate on retail car sales sank to 4.4% in March the lowest since 2002. We have seen a return to vehicle leases and incentives remain strong. The combination of rising employment rates in both Canada and the US and the winds of an economic recovery have resulted in strong vehicle sales in both the United States and Canada as well as in Mexico. This has continued to boost vehicle production, which is always great news for suppliers.

In the short term, the good news for suppliers in North America should only continue to get better. In 2010 and 2011 we have 45 significantly updated or all new vehicles being launched, compared with less than 25 over the previous 24 months.  This consists of 6 vehicles in the "A & B" segments, 15 new vehicles in the "C" segment, and 7 vehicles in the "D/E" segment. On the truck side, there are 13 new or significantly updated small and midsized crossover utility vehicles, 2 midsized sport utilities and 2 in the minivan segment. All of these represent significant opportunities for suppliers to grow content and expand business. Oil prices have stabilized in the mid $80 a barrel range and although the Canadian dollar is strong and there is some upward pressure on commodity prices, the economic outlook, not only in North America, but on a global scale, continues to be positive and should continue to bode well for automotive vehicle production.

Thus we should all be happy right? It was interesting to note that in his speech at our Canada-US dinner held on March 15, 2010, Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler's vaunted CEO stated "Recovery, with apologies to Karl Marx, is the opiate of dysfunctional industries." He went on to note "I believe history will look to this moment, here and now, as the decisive one -- the moment we chose, finally, to remake ourselves as a muscular, viable, independent industry or when we were content to relax as a macroeconomic recovery concealed, for what would likely be the last time, deep and unsustainable structural flaws. The great danger of this moment is that we retreat into denial once more - that we mistake a better economic climate for better business models. If we succumb to that delusion, the tragedy will be a double one -- for not only will we hasten the automotive industry's decline, we will also deprive the substantial suffering our industry has endured for any purpose."

As individuals and as suppliers, I believe we need to challenge ourselves with this thought every day. Have we truly looked at our cost structures to determine that we have a sustainable, viable economic model that is fully functional in today's new automotive world? Sometimes the easy way out is to simply say in a recovering economy that wage rates are too high, rather than examining the entire nature of our business with respect to overall productivity.

The danger might be that we would blame rising commodity costs for an inefficient cost structure rather than continuing to be aggressive in identifying alternative materials, new innovations and enhancements in our manufacturing processes that would allow us to remain competitive. Are we truly focusing on the proper utilization and introduction of new technologies, including software skills and tools that allow us to run a more efficient business and to be truly competitive in every shape and form?

Our intention is that our upcoming annual conference on June 9 and 10th, in conjunction with the AUTO21 Conference on June 7 and 8th, will help us to take a deep and reflective look at these issues and to explore solutions that will help Canada to become a leading competitive country. We have combined with AUTO21 in order to promote the concept of innovation, to promote interaction with our leading academic institutions and to encourage exchanges between the Highly Qualified automotive Personnel (HQP) of AUTO21 and our automotive manufacturing community.

We have reshaped the exhibition floor to be predominantly focused on automotive manufacturers. We have encouraged these automotive manufacturers to focus on their top one or two innovations that will truly make a difference to their go forward strategy. I am proud of our suppliers in that they have embraced this challenge to demonstrate that we do have unique new innovations and exciting new products that will drive the industry forward.

Finally, we have strong representation from governments, from Premier Dalton McGuinty, through senior Ontario provincial Ministers including Sandra Pupatello, Dwight Duncan and John Wilkinson and Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement. They have truly committed their time and resource, not only to let us know what they are doing to support our manufacturing sector but also to listen to our story, to hear us espouse what we need to do to keep Canada as a leading competitive country.

We have invited supplier delegations from across the globe including Mexico, Germany, France, India, China, Korea and Japan to join with us in cooperation and in challenging the status quo as we fight to maintain our economic viability.

I sincerely hope you can join us in Windsor. Let us answer the challenge of Sergio Marchionne.  Let it be said that this was the moment when we chose, finally, to remake ourselves as a muscular, viable, and independent industry and that we fixed deep and unsustainable structural flaws to emerge as a true leader within the global automotive industry.