Limiting the ability of Canadian companies to use these offshore jurisdictions for legitimate purposes would negatively impact the competitiveness of the Canadian economy, and the banks in particular. One thing I should note is that about 40% of Canadian investment abroad is actually in finance, and the banks are sort of leading in that area. Many of the Canadian companies operating in the global economy work with the Canadian banks. They need to be together, because the Canadian banks have worked with these companies for many years.
Limiting or preventing the ability of Canadian banks to operate in those jurisdictions would have a dramatic, negative impact on the Canadian economy. I also believe that many other companies—not the banks, obviously—would cease to be Canadian. They would decide to move their head offices to other jurisdictions that allowed them to use these international financial structures.
The point has to be stressed that simply because there are tax advantages associated with using offshore jurisdictions, it does not mean it's negative for the Canadian economy. There are many--