Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you to each of you for joining us today.
Earlier today, the The Economist report was referenced called “Tax havens: The missing $20 trillion”. There's an interesting article in that report titled, "The OFCs’ economic role: The good, the bad and the Ugland. Havens serve clean as well as dirty money". I appreciate your advice on this because Canada's foreign investment is an important source of economic and political influence for our country, and it's really important that we as legislators understand how we can differentiate between, for instance, transactions that are about achieving tax neutrality and those that are about tax cheating.
Your Excellency, investments in places like Costa Rica, Latin America, and the Caribbean are very important as you develop, diversify, and grow your economies.
In December 2011, China invested $900 million to modernize one oil refinery. There's a growth of Chinese investment throughout Latin America and throughout the Caribbean in many of these countries that are deemed OFCs. Is it important that we differentiate that which is legitimate Canadian investment for the right reasons—to develop an economy and also as good investment for Canadian investors—and not diminish that or create barriers to that investment that could effectively reduce our influence and role in these very important developing economies and potentially create an opportunity for others who may be less transparent than our own investors ultimately? I reference the Chinese as potentially among that category.
Your Excellency.