Finance committee  We're very pleased with and supportive of the federal government initiative to introduce 50-year bonds. A number of provinces have already put those in place. It's a great opportunity for the government to finance its debt more cheaply. Also, it's a good opportunity for us to inv

Finance committee  I think it's something that can be introduced. I think it would be significant. I think to us it's a starting point, because if you standardize documentation, then you can start looking at being able to bundle certain projects, for example. Also you could look at lowering the len

Finance committee  I'll respond very briefly on PRPPs. I think the fact that we're getting very wide support from a lot of the provinces—four provinces have now implemented them, and Ontario has announced that they will be implementing them shortly—reflects widespread acceptance and a view that t

Finance committee  —and lack of standardization in the P3 project documentation. The lack of standardization and documentation limits the attractiveness of smaller P3 projects for potential investors, as the size of the potential deal may not be adequate to compensate for up-front costs. The compl

Finance committee  Okay, can I complete it? I'm sorry—

Finance committee  Can I complete just what the recommendations are then? If I can't, then I'll do that.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, members of the committee, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to be here today on behalf of the Canadian Life and Health insurance Association to participate in the pre-budget consultations. The CLHIA is a voluntary association whose member companies account for

Finance committee  There is a separate demutualization legislation for life insurance companies. Most of the industry was demutualized in the late 1990s or early 2000s. I would say by all accounts that went extremely well, and I think those who benefited from it felt they were.... I should say all

Finance committee  The only one that would come to mind would be Manulife's acquisition of John Hancock in the United States—

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Yes, I would agree with Mr. Campbell. While this is essentially an added layer, I think there's a recognition that the world has changed since 2008 and that the minister needs at his disposal what is required to ensure the safety and soundness of the system. We have no objection

Finance committee  You gave the example of adjustable policies. These are policies where some of the conditions can change over time. That's how the nature of the policy is structured. In foreign jurisdictions, there are already disclosure requirements with respect to that. In the former approach

Finance committee  From our perspective, we thought it was an excellent process. There was plenty of opportunity for dialogue. Because it is technical in nature, often there needs to be a fair amount of back and forth to get a full understanding of what the issues are or where there are difficult

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm Frank Swedlove, the president of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. I have with me today Frank Zinatelli, who is the CLHIA's general counsel. The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association accounts for 99% of the life and health

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Adler. We were quite surprised by the results also. The poll showed that there's a recognition by Canadians that they would like to have more and better opportunities to save for retirement. The biggest issue we see, and this is identified in Jack Mintz's report