Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of our guests for being here. I've certainly enjoyed the debate today.
Recently I read in the April edition of “The Ambachtsheer Letter” an article entitled, “High Noon for Pension Reform: From Debates to Decisions”. I want to quote from it:
We have had the good fortune to be an active participant in this process since the beginning both as a contributor, and as a listener. Here, we offer our updated thoughts on each of the three major issues set out above and how they might be resolved. In doing so, we are mindful of Roger Martin's observation that the discovery of better answers should continue until the very end of the design process.
I want to build on what you said, Ms. George. You began your opening remarks by stating that this is “a hearing that matters” and that any changes made will have an impact on Canadians for years to come. I believe that, which is why our Conservative government is taking the time to conduct the kinds of consultations that we have, through this committee, our Minister of Finance, and our parliamentary secretary, and certainly we see what's going on with the provinces.
You also stated in your remarks that the Canadian chamber believes that Canada's current overall retirement savings system is sound and that legislators and policy-makers need to focus on “improvements in the gap areas, rather than fundamental changes”.
Can you just quickly recap for me what you would see those gap areas being? Then, I'm also wondering if you can comment as a national organization on the need for policy-makers, provincial and federal, to work together.