Good morning, Mr. Chairman and committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to present, on behalf of Financial Executives International Canada, our recommendations for your study.
FEI Canada is a voluntary membership association of more than 2,000 of Canada's most senior financial executives from coast to coast. Our recommendations are the result of consultations with our membership through a task force and a survey conducted to respond to your study, the summary of which is included in pages 6 to 8 of the materials we've left with the committee.
Michael Boychuk, who's with me today, serves as a volunteer director of the Quebec chapter of FEI Canada, and in his day job Mike is treasurer of Bell Canada.
Our recommendations are framed around three goals: increasing the availability of credit to business, the efficiency of capital markets, and rebuilding confidence in the economy. Achieving these goals will foster strong Canadian global competitiveness, support expansion projects, and help companies develop markets--