My next question is for the Canadian Bankers Association.
Dr. Hejazi was here at committee on March 3. He testified that
...the fact that Canadian companies are as competitive as they are in the global economy, with all of the measured benefits this situation has had on Canada by way of raising our GDP and raising our income per capita, has generated additional tax revenue. OFCs are working when they are used for legitimate purposes. Interfering with that would hurt Canada and would hurt tax fairness.
He went on to state that Canada has about $500 billion in the global economy and that about 20% goes through offshore centres.
My question is whether you agree with Dr. Hejazi that the legal use of offshore financial centres is important to a healthy economy and that preventing access to these centres--in effect shutting off access to global markets--would hurt the Canadian economy.