Finance Committee on Oct. 28th, 2014

[Norma Kozhaya]

Yes.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

So they offset that revenue. But that isn't something your organization or the business community in general is asking for either, is it?

[Norma Kozhaya]

No.

We are asking the government to examine tax and other measures, whether tax credits or not, that are more effective when it comes to generating economic activity.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Thank you very much.

I am now coming to you, Mr. Clark.

You talked about the tax multipliers regarding infrastructure or the reduction in tax. Were you referring to the multipliers for 2010 or more recent ones?

[Scott Clark]

They're for 2010.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Those are the most recently released, are they not?

[Scott Clark]

Yes.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Have these multipliers changed significantly? I am asking because we had a plenary session with the Minister of Finance and we asked him a slew of questions for the purpose of updating those tax multipliers. Some were significantly different.

Will they differ from those for 2010? Is there a reason that the Department of Finance does not publish those multipliers in budgets or budget updates?

[Scott Clark]

I can't really determine to what extent they might change, but I would suspect that in the Department of Finance, just as a matter of course, they would be looking at these kinds of calculations because they're important for their analysis.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

You said it's important to know what assumptions were made. You said the assumptions around energy prices were missing for analysis purposes.

Should we have access to revised tax multipliers on a regular basis in order to adequately analyze the models the Department of Finance is using?

[Scott Clark]

Well, I think they could be put in budget documents. There's quite a bit of good analysis and data in these budget documents. I think economists and people like you would find it useful, and it wouldn't be very difficult to do that.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you.

Merci, monsieur Caron.

Mr. Adler, please, for five minutes.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you all for being here. It's a wonderful discussion.

I want to begin with Ms. Lennox.

You seem absolutely wonderful at what you do. You've raised $25 million in two years. Why are you asking for $50 million. You seem to be excellent, as I said, at what you do. You're adept at raising money. Why?

[Victoria Lennox]

The infrastructure for entrepreneurs in Canada is a government infrastructure. All of the organizations that service entrepreneurs are funded by government.

Startup Canada was a volunteer organization until very recently. For us to have leverage in the ecosystem with government-funded organizations, we need to be in the game. To have that level of support from the federal government will show the ecosystem that we can be trusted partners in growing our ecosystem.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Is it unattainable? I mean, you've raised $25 million in two years.

Are you saying it's not possible to raise more in the private sector, or are you maxed out right now until you get that $50 million.

[Victoria Lennox]

Part of it is because most of our private sector partners have had offices in the United States. It's is very challenging to get them excited about startup entrepreneurs when four out of five businesses fail in their first five years. We're trying to change a culture. Having government as a partner will help to create a team to tackle this issue together.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

I understand. Thank you.

Ms. Cook, the chemistry companies seem to have a hand in just about everything—every product, and virtually every industry.

Could you talk a bit about some of the new challenges? You broached some of them in your brief. And for things that are out of our jurisdiction, like hydro rates, could you talk a bit about some of the other challenges your industry is facing?

[Fiona Cook]

In general, it's just what we're facing.

As you point out, chemistry is what we call a keystone industry. It feeds so many different manufacturing sectors. I didn't name them all. You have forestry in there. You have mining and resource development. Again, because of what's going on in the U.S., we're seeing this erosion of Canada's manufacturing base. We are seeing the demand for our products decline, and that is a huge challenge.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

We, as a federal government, can do what we can, but there are things that are out of our control, for example, Ontario hydro rates, which have driven a lot of manufacturers out of business.

How do we face and overcome those challenges?

[Fiona Cook]

I don't think you can address them. As you point out, it is a provincial jurisdiction.

The reason I mention that is because it's important that when the federal government looks at what it needs to do to stimulate investment that it takes account of what is going on in the U.S. The traditional advantages we've enjoyed for our competitive position no longer exist in certain areas, so you need to take account of that.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Okay.

Mr. Clark, what percentage of the world's oil production now is dominated by OPEC, verus non-OPEC?

[Scott Clark]

The U.S. is the biggest right now, but I would say that OPEC is the dominant producer for sure.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

But their percentage has been decreasing—

[Scott Clark]

Well, because of the U.S. now becoming dominant, and that's Shell oil.

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Yes.

It's not that they—