Forging ahead: NAFTA or not, Quebec pours millions into manufacturing

The future of Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. is in limbo but that didn’t stop Robert Belanger from investing $3.6 million to upgrade his Quebec fabrics plant.
New weaving machines and a state-of-the-art dying system are helping his company, Belt-Tech Inc., produce enough of the webbing used in seat belts and pull straps to meet a 30-per-cent surge in orders from the North American auto industry. Part of the financing came from the Quebec government, which is pushing manufa