Thank you to all the witnesses who came out to present today.
I want to mention, before I begin my questioning, that the finance minister has an obligation to all Canadians, not just the 9.1 million who voted for the opposition party. I'm very excited that the minister will be here on Tuesday to present in front of this committee.
My question is for Mr. Williamson. I know you've been a busy man today, so I'll keep it short.
It's a good time to invest. There are low interest rates in the country, and we have a declining debt-to-GDP ratio. As the parliamentary secretary mentioned, the IMF has basically said that Canada is in a great, unique position for investment. You mentioned in your testimony that infrastructure projects may not be all that they're assumed to be in terms of growth. The government has made a pledge that it's going to spend its money wisely. It should be on projects that stimulate growth in the short term and in the long term, and we should benefit from a long-term perspective.
In 2008, when the Obama administration came into power, the Americans focused on spending money. Over those eight years in power, we've seen a declining unemployment rate and growth rates at historical levels in the United States. In the same period in Canada, we haven't had that growth. In the last 10 years, we've had the worst growth rates since World War II.
Investment in infrastructure spending has always been seen as a way to stimulate the economy. Could we hear your views on that, and how the Atlantic provinces could benefit and should benefit from federal government spending on infrastructure?