Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for being here.
Of course, being from Brantford, in the heartland of an industrial community, I know full well the transition that is happening. We are doing pre-budget consultation, and I want your perspective on what the landscape is right now.
I will give you my take on it. The cost of doing business in Ontario is going through the roof, largely because of energy costs, specifically electricity. I have had firms come to my office and show me their bills, which have doubled. They were spending $1,000 a month on that; now they are spending $2,000 a month in overhead costs.
Are you finding this to be a factor for any of the companies you're working with in terms of their expansion plans? I recently had a company come to me and say that they were going to expand, but now they're not. They're going to do it in their plant in Michigan instead of Ontario. Are you finding this kind of effect currently happening in your region?