Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I too wish to thank you for your testimony. These are the first briefs we have heard, and they contain a lot of interesting information and food for thought.
I will first address my remarks to the representatives of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and of the Railway Association of Canada. There is a desire to see tax reductions, especially on the part of large corporations, and one can readily understand why. However, the argument that income tax reductions make investments possible is not always borne out by reality. We have seen considerable tax reductions over the past years. Last year, investments did not follow suit; this is particularly true in Quebec.
I'll take the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers' brief as an example. On the one hand you are asking that the government follow through on corporate tax reduction measures adopted in the spring 2006 federal budget and on the other hand, you ask that government continue to work with the provinces in order to ensure that public infrastructures not constitute a brake on ongoing economic growth.
If you had to choose between tax reductions and investments in public infrastructure — we can all see that the road network is deteriorating — what would you choose? What should our priorities be?
The question is indeed broad, but did you know that our theme was Canada's place in a competitive world?