Thank you very much. It's tomorrow.
If they are still talking about me some 25 years later, that is kind of scary; nonetheless, I must have left a good impression, I hope.
With regard to the direction of this committee, we all know that committees are the masters of their own domain. Obviously, we have a minority Parliament, so there'll need to be co-operation among all parties to produce good reports that we can look back at and be proud of.
When I look at this motion, compared to what we did in the prior Parliament, this motion doesn't pass that litmus test. I hate using the phrase “litmus test” on anything.
When we talk about investing in Canada, investing in Canadians and investing in global companies and Canadian companies, we need to think about what that means. It means creating a better future for our citizens. It means creating a better future for my kids, frankly.
When I look at all the firms in Vaughan.... I've done announcements in the city of Vaughan. There are 13,000 businesses. I don't think one of those owners would think that receiving funds, whether they're from the SR and ED program, which is a $3-billion tax expenditure a year....
Mr. McLean referenced the word “expenditure”. I would note that today the finance department released the 2020 federal expenditure book. It's a great book. I recommend that everyone read it. It goes through every tax expenditure that's provided to Canadians from coast to coast to coast, both individual and business. It references government investments. Those are government investments in Canadian companies.
They may call it “corporate welfare”, but there is $3 billion in the SR and ED program that goes to companies from coast to coast to coast so that we can strengthen R and D levels in Canada. You may consider it corporate welfare, but I don't. The basic personal amount is an expenditure. It may be applied to individuals and not businesses, but it is still very important.