Thanks.
I know that my colleague, Corinne Pohlmann, shared with you the views and surveys that CFIB has done on this important subject over the last couple of years. There are a couple of other points I would note.
First, governments are still trying to get their heads around how to regulate and tax firms in this world. That is a major struggle and creates a lot of uncertainty for a number of firms that are looking to be involved in this business, particularly for technology and other high-innovation sectors of the economy. I agree with Mr. Cohn's comments.
We're hearing a lot about the CRA impediments around taxing IT contractors and others in this industry. Regulations at the provincial level are often significant impediments. This is a new kind of work, and governments can't really get their heads around it, try as they might.
The other thing I want to mention quickly is the cost of accepting online payments. I know you had presentations from some in the financial services sector, and I want to throw one note of caution in there.
No impediment has been put in place by the code of conduct for the credit and debit card industries in Canada. Minister Flaherty's code of conduct is an excellent tool. It's working well and is completely flexible to allow e-commerce and mobile payments to happen in a robust way. There is no impediment in the code to that happening. I just wanted to reinforce that message. I think Interac shared some similar views on that front.
The biggest problem we've had with electronic payments has been the cost, particularly the cost imposed by the banks, and Visa and Mastercard. Of course, that is the bridge by which PayPal often works too.
Thank you.