Finance Committee on Feb. 16th, 2016

[Annie Bérubé]

I would answer that question by saying that we don't have a level playing field in Canada when it comes to energy investments. That's because the federal government continues to offer tax preferences to oil and gas and natural gas that are not available to the rest of the energy sector, so it's very unfair and challenging to compare the cost of energy in Canada, given that these tax preferences and these tax credits remain. This is why I recommend phasing out those tax preferences to oil and gas and natural gas industries, which are critical, and then you'll see a level playing field when it comes to investments in clean energy and clean technology.

With regard to the cost of solar panels themselves, I couldn't give you a figure right now, but we have some experts who could get back to you on that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you.

Ms. Raitt, we have only about three minutes.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

This question is for the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce and the Cattlemen's Association.

Could you give me an understanding of the importance of the strength of the United States' economy to the businesses that you represent? We're going to be looking at growth in this country based upon the fact that the U.S. is going to be bouncing back a little bit faster and a little bit harder on the consumption side, quite frankly. How important is that growth to what you're going to be seeing in your communities? As well, if they don't do that, given the election year and given that we don't quite know what's going on, if their growth does sputter, what does that mean to you?

[Steve McLellan]

From a Saskatchewan perspective, it's absolutely critical, not only for potash but also for oil and for some services. In the fall of this past year, we co-hosted a Saskatchewan-U.S. trade summit. North Dakota has a 2% unemployment rate right now. They're in the black and they're heavily invested in oil. It's absolutely critical for that economy to continue, and we celebrate it every single day. We also have some advantage with the dollar right now. We're not celebrating the dollar, but it's an advantage when we're selling into that area.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Thank you very much.

[Dennis Laycraft]

Canada and the U.S. have the largest two-way trade of any two countries in the world in agri-food products, so it's extremely important to our industry. Half of our production is exported, and close to 80% of our exports go to the U.S. They're the world's largest beef market on a per-value basis, so whatever occurs down there does have an impact on our prices.

At the same time, I'll go back to the other things that are starting to come into play as we start to see the growth through TPP and the reduction in tariffs in Japan. It isn't an isolated economic condition around the world. As we, hopefully, get the opportunity for preferential access under CETA and get those issues resolved, we'll see the tariffs reduced.

There are also the hidden gems of Vietnam and other countries. South Korea has expressed an interest. Those will all diversify our ability, but they'll also strengthen U.S. markets, so we get a win-win out of that. A stronger U.S. market and stronger demand for Canadian beef is the ideal situation for our industry moving forward.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

We will cut it off there.

I wish to thank all the witnesses for coming in on a very tight time frame.

I remind committee members that we start at 3:30 p.m. sharp in room C-110, 1 Wellington Street.

The meeting is adjourned