Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, I'd like to thank everyone for being here this morning to take part in this meeting.
Frankly, I don't know where to start.
The contribution made by the Association pour le développement de la recherche et de l'innovation du Québec is very interesting. I have seen the results with my own eyes.
I also had the pleasure of meeting the representatives of the Canadian Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators on several occasions in my current life as a member, and previously when I worked for Canadian universities.
I certainly commend the work of the CSN and of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. I will have questions for their representatives a bit later.
I will begin with Mr. Bédard.
I must respond to some of the comments you made before the committee. You said that income tax was a good measure of Canadian productivity. I am very preoccupied by productivity. I adore the work your organization does, and I have attended several of its annual conferences. That said, I must say that in the United States, the corporate tax rate is 35%, whereas it is 15% in Canada, and yet we have not seen an improvement in the productivity rate of Canadian workers.
Explain to me why you say that changing income tax rates will necessarily bring about changes. For many years, the corporate income tax rate in Canada has been lower than in the United States, and yet we have not seen an improvement.
I would like a brief answer to my question, because I have another one for the Fonds de solidarité FTQ representatives.