Finance committee  Most of the members here probably know that around the world, corporate tax rates are coming down. In decisions about where to invest capital, tax rates are a huge element in making the decision. If you can choose between the U.K., where the rate is 23%, and Canada, where the rat

Finance committee  —by the consumer, yes.

Finance committee  That's correct. Any increase in taxation, especially a tax of that type, will get passed right along to consumers in the end. Quite frankly, there's nowhere else it can go if the company is going to stay in business.

Finance committee  Yes, that's correct.

Finance committee  We have many offices spread across British Columbia and Alberta. I'm located in Vancouver, but we have significant operations in the Edmonton area as well.

Finance committee  Absolutely. It's Fort Mac as well.

Finance committee  It's definitely the largest Caterpillar dealer in the world. In terms of the size of the facility, I don't have that information.

Finance committee  That's correct. The ability to get people up into the Fort Mac region and get them working for us is tough. It's an issue.

Finance committee  Of course—

Finance committee  In some roles, yes, it's definitely the wages, but there are lots of other issues besides wages, such as people leaving their families. People come in from Newfoundland. They fly on planes and live in camps for—

Finance committee  So you know there are other—

Finance committee  I think the question is on bringing corporations together for tax consolidation purposes. If corporations can be looked at as one individual unit, and one corporation is paying its tax bill and contributing in that fashion towards the public and another corporation is not doing a

Finance committee  Yes, I can say that a lot of corporations do pay tax.

Finance committee  Yes, absolutely. A lower corporate tax rate promotes investment. It supports job creation and growth. It supports a stronger economy, and I think we've seen that in the last 10 years--except for the recent period--while the rates have come down. I think that's absolutely the case

Finance committee  In order for a corporation to be profitable, that cost has to be passed on to consumers.