Public Safety committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen. I thank Ambassador Kergin for filling in until I arrived.

Industry committee  Mr. Chairman, I would like to just set it in context. This committee, quite appropriately, is very concerned about the impact of the dramatic appreciation of the Canadian dollar, which has certainly exacerbated the challenges so many Canadian businesses are facing. But we shouldn't be distracted by the dollar from the underlying issue, which is the competitiveness of Canadian business.

Industry committee  If I could add to that, Mr. Eyking, basically any sector where we are paying Canadian-dollar costs for our inputs and we're looking to export is going to be under pressure, particularly if our export market is in the United States. Secondly, here domestically, obviously, any instance where American firms are exporting into Canada will increase pressure, with the exchange rate on the Canadian dollar, on the Canadian industry.

Industry committee  Your question was addressed to me as well, and if I understood your question correctly, you were referring to the private member's bill that deals with replacement workers. We strongly oppose the legislation. We think it would be very damaging to the Canadian economy.

Industry committee  More infrastructure would be a very good place to start. We have serious problems there. The impact upon industry is very direct, and if we can cut the various Gordian knots that exist in moving ahead and accelerating investment and border infrastructure, it will be a major shot in the arm for industry.

Industry committee  Is that addressed to me or to--

Industry committee  No, nobody is suggesting that Canada should be ashamed of the high dollar, Mr. Arthur. I think the important thing is for us to be aware of the impact of the high dollar. I think we would feel that if the high dollar reflected improvements in productivity, this simply wouldn't be an issue; indeed, it would be a source of considerable pride for Canadians.

Industry committee  It's not my deck. I've changed jobs, Mr. Masse.

Industry committee  I don't have evidence that the United States is manipulating their currency. I do have evidence of extreme weakness in the economy of the United States, and it is certainly affecting us. When we look at the dramatic appreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar, I think it is important to realize that a significant part of that appreciation is not a result of something we've done here, but of what they've done there, and the poor performance in their economy.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Vincent. I don't think you will find any manufacturer who will be critical of the reduction in taxes. What you will find are manufacturers saying that we need to look at ways in which manufacturers who are not paying taxes because they aren't profitable today are able to benefit as well.

Industry committee  What we need to do is look at the performance of the whole of the Canadian economy and get the fundamentals straight. We have to ensure that we have a competitive skills base in our country; we have to ensure that our border functions correctly; we have to ensure that we have a competitive tax and regulatory system.

Industry committee  The chamber has been in touch with the government on this issue over the course of the last several months. I'll defer to Mr. Murphy, who could explain to you some of the activities he's had in this area.

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Brison, for the question. Clearly, our priority has been to look in areas other than GST reductions. We were pleased, though, when the MInister of Finance, in his economic update, announced a whole range of tax measures. They included the GST, but they went well beyond that, and we felt this was an important step forward.

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, for your hospitality in inviting us to be here with you today. As many of you know, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the largest and most influential advocate for business in Canada. We have members of all sizes and from all sectors of the economy in all regions of the country.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, I strongly agree about the ability of the Bank of Canada to affect interest rates when the underlying pressures that we're dealing with--dramatic escalation in terms of commodity prices, particularly in the energy field, and the weakness of the American dollar--put very strong upward pressure on the Canadian dollar.