I want to start with a general comment about payroll taxes.
Payroll taxes are a lot lower under the federal fiscal framework than they are under the provincial one. It's true that payroll taxes are something of a sensitive issue in Quebec, where they're terribly high. It's a flat and rigid tax, which doesn't take into consideration company profits. Therefore, it stands to reason that, every time payroll taxes are increased, regressive taxes are increased. They're even more regressive for small companies, obviously. We feel that any kind of a payroll tax cut—we suggest tax credits for training—is a very positive measure.
In Europe, a lot of emphasis is being placed on payroll taxes. Yet, almost all European Union member countries are currently looking into what's referred to as a social value-added tax or VAT. It consists in transferring payroll taxes to a consumption tax. All tax experts agree on the efficiency of such a measure. I think the idea is fairly widespread: we need to stop taxing human capital. That's pretty basic in terms of economic growth. During a labour shortage, human capital needs to be accumulated and trained, and wages need to be raised. It all ties in together.