Thank you, Mr. Chair.
With me today is our chief economist, Tina Kremmidas.
It gives us great pleasure to come before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance once again to present the views of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as you proceed in your pre-budget consultations.
As you know, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most influential advocate for business in Canada. Our network is firmly rooted in main street in virtually every community in the country, representing 175,000 businesses of all sizes, in all sectors, and in all regions.
On behalf of our members, we are pleased to have provided you with a copy of our submission on July 15.
As we come out of this recession, how Canada positions itself through this next budget is crucial. Your report has never been more important.
We're going to keep our comments very short so that there is time for dialogue.
I'd like to turn to my colleague Tina Kremmidas to make a few opening remarks before the discussions begin.