Thank you, Chair.
Thank you all for coming here this afternoon. I apologize for the late start because of the vote, but still it's great to hear your comments on the economy and what Canada should be doing.
I come from Saskatchewan, where the unemployment rate is about 4%. Our economy is booming. If you talk about recession or possible recession, people look at you cross-eyed. It's hard for me, in a lot of ways, to talk about spending or not spending, especially when we're looking at a budget that's going to come out in February or March next year. I guess what I'm trying to do is to find out some facts and things that we can actually say “Okay, what's concrete at this point in time that we can take forward?”
Most of you talked about being flexible, cautious but flexible. Basically it sounds to me as if there's an endorsement of what we're doing right now, that we should be ready or flexible in case we see things get worse. We don't have crystal balls, and I think the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have always talked about there always being flexibility with something moving forward. But there are things that we can do as a government regardless, to make us more competitive, to increase our productivity. I think the one area on which I'd like your comment is on the kinds of barriers or regulations that could or should be removed anyway.
I know, Mr. Hodgson, you talked about a bridge, I believe, in Montreal, the Champlain Bridge, that should be replaced not because of stimulus but because it needs to be replaced. Is there anything in government right now that should be replaced just because it needs to be replaced, whether it's regulatory or programs that no longer meet the demand or are no longer relevant? Have you identified any of those things, whether regulatory burdens or stuff like that we should look at?
Maybe, Mr. Hodgson, I'll start with you.