Finance committee  I guess Gary passed that one over here. Yes, without a doubt, I think there are a number of initiatives going on. In thinking about this piece, we know there are efforts from Alberta companies, and our City of Calgary as a matter of fact, to reach out to Ontario communities to p

Finance committee  Well, without a doubt, the recent decision on the Progress Energy-Petronas piece did create some skittishness in the markets. As a result, we saw that reaction. That's a confidence reaction. A lack of clarity in the style with which the announcement came forward has really sort o

Finance committee  We fully anticipate that. The indications suggest there are going to be some changes to that Investment Canada Act in the near future. We're hoping it will have the comprehensive approach we're looking for, particularly regarding definitions of net benefit and parameters around s

Finance committee  Without a doubt, we see this as a critical lynchpin, if you will, for future investment in Canada, particularly in Alberta. We recognize that there's an increased appetite for investment, particularly from emerging economies in Asia, to basically secure energy resources and techn

Finance committee  From our perspective, absolutely, we see carbon management as part of a broader Canadian energy strategy. We do support the sectoral style of approach. We do support a life-cycle approach to managing carbon emissions. It's important to recognize existing investments and the rate

Finance committee  Essentially, looking at this one, we need to agree on the objective of strengthening our economic competitiveness. From a resource perspective, it begins with a Canadian energy strategy, with some level of agreement on how to develop our natural resources, understanding where the

Finance committee  Basically, we're calling for changes to the employment insurance program that, priced more effectively, would remove distortions for people to stay in areas of high unemployment and move to areas of low unemployment, essentially. We're calling for the employment insurance system

Finance committee  Yes, in terms of the ownership profile of the energy sector in the last 10 years and foreign investment in the Alberta sector, 30%—

Finance committee  —would equally be the U.S. and China.

Finance committee  Yes. Essentially what we're calling for is to bring it back to a true insurance-style program. There are a number of other components to it right now that distort, that are not necessarily linked to somebody losing his job. They're valuable programs and we'd like to see them fund

Finance committee  Actually, I'm not referring to that, because I'm not familiar with it. I'm referring basically to the concept of ensuring, when we engage in these types of arrangements, that there's equal access, or comparable access, to Canadian companies with these proposed foreign investors.

Finance committee  Where we sit on this piece is that I think there has to be some differentiation, depending on the country and the relationship we have. If it's a state-owned entity, the government needs to understand what the interest is they need to protect against and then establish and legisl

Finance committee  It would be a huge confidence piece, and certainly business is looking for predictability, stability, consistency, and principle in decision-making. For example, if it had been ExxonMobil that had moved forward with the proposal, there would not be as many eyes batting as a resul

Finance committee  Sure. Definitely I think we can get rid of the first section there. If we need clarity on the second part of your question, perhaps we can get into that. In terms of productivity, where we're talking about strengthening productivity, you.... I mean, basically you've solved i

Finance committee  The reality is what I'm calling for right now: we're looking at expanding trade agreements as a means to enhance productivity. We see that as beneficial for a number of reasons, but in the budget submission we made to you, there's actually a citation from StatsCan when they prese