Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Carney, it's good to see you again. You seem to be looking a little thinner. I hope that has nothing to do with these budget policies.
You have three policies that are in this budget. The first is with respect to income trusts, the rather draconian imposition of a surprise tax; the second is the issue of interest deductibility, which you're familiar with; and the third is the scrapping of the border withholding tax.
Have you considered the combination of those policies? Surely to goodness a policy that makes Canadian trusts cheaper and more prone to be acquired by foreigners is not necessarily good for Canadian economic sovereignty.
Surely a policy that makes it more difficult for Canadian companies to acquire abroad—and it is somewhat disturbing to hear Mr. Ernewein say it may be on a case-by-case basis as to whether this works or doesn't work—is not good for economic sovereignty.
Surely to goodness it's not good to make foreign companies entitled to buy Canadian companies and be able to in effect get a tax discount because of the scrapping of the border withholding tax.
Surely to goodness that combination of policies has hung out on Canada a huge “For Sale” sign and more than offset any other things you might have done in the budget to have brought corporate taxation rates or depreciation rates or capital taxes more in line with competitive regions. I fail to understand whether in fact you have considered these three policies as making it far more difficult for Canadians to compete in the world.