Evidence of meeting #82 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was program.
A video is available from Parliament.
National Director, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
All I would say is that we need more educated people with less debt. Before you can have capital and labour markets, you need an education.
October 24th, 2012 / 4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, witnesses.
Ms. Amsden, corporate tax revenues have gone up, haven't they? In fact, the plan is working.
Director, Investment Industry Association of Canada
Certainly in terms of the actual reduction in the general corporate tax rate, it is, yes.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
And the tax revenues have gone up; we've seen an increase this year over last year, even though the tax rate was different.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
I have a question for Mr. Dayler as well.
I noticed in reading your brief that you talked about addressing Canada's work shortage. I'm not familiar with whether you're aware of the Alberta system, but I wonder whether In general terms, because I don't have much time, you agree with what I'm about to tell you. They do aggressive marketing to students in high schools and implement programs with industry under which high school students work part-time for industry and part-time in school.
Do you agree with that program?
National Director, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
There are a lot of good examples of places where that works. There's the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology—one of our member schools as well—finding out where those needs are.
Conservative
National Director, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
We absolutely need to make better connections.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
And do you think we should do more of that across Canada, that they should adopt that particular system, as far as integrating school and industry with jobs is concerned?
National Director, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
Wider consultation would probably need to be had on the way to implement it, but I agree with building a better connection, for sure.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
I notice that your organization applauded our investments in the knowledge infrastructure program across the country—the federal investment, never done before in provincial jurisdiction schools to that degree. Would you...?
National Director, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
I think that any investment made in the infrastructure is positive, because it creates a better learning environment. But at the same time, you can't forget the student side of it, and many—
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
More is always better. We hear that a lot.
Mr. Scholz, I'd like to talk to you. Mr. Marston is not here now, but I noticed in your brief that you talked about some things Mr. Marston has always been interested in, such as encouraging workers to move using the EI system—considering travel tax credits, relocating workers, and encouraging them through the EI system.
Your industry in particular would like that kind of thing to be moved forward more aggressively. Is that true?
President, Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors
Well, we have a systemic labour problem in western Canada, and there are just not enough people to run our operations.
President, Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors
The answer is yes.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Do you agree with the proposals of the Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance as well as of the liquefied natural gas organization? One suggested, for LNG facilities, a tax reclassification from section 47 to section 43, which would give them the encouragement to build a facility in Canada. Does your organization applaud that?
President, Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors
Anything we can do to encourage drilling for natural gas is good for our association and our members.
Conservative
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
The Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance talks generally about a form of natural gas highway in Canada to compare with that in the United States. Would you agree with that as well?
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
I want to talk about something you mentioned, and that is market diversification. Right now we export 99.9% of our oil to the United States. We import 770,000 barrels per day; we export 21.3 million barrels per day.
For the 770,000 barrels per day, do we pay full market price?
