Thank you to all of you for coming here today. It's been an interesting journey, listening to witnesses who are looking at this particular issue.
Canada has developed this subsidy program that filters through a lot of different departments and different areas. We're looking at early-stage companies, innovation, mature companies, cash-flowing companies and all over the map. It's a significant issue.
My question is to Mr. Cross or Mr. Mintz.
The government talks about this as an investment. I always think of investment as outside investment, where it's the private market and capital markets investing in countries, in businesses and technologies. This investment is borrowed—it's taxpayers' money—which we have already heard takes money out of the economy.
Is there a jurisdiction you can think of that has tried a different strategy, one that is lowering the general tax burden? Is there one that is less program-based, with a lower tax burden, to attract businesses and investment back into the country, rather than the government making those decisions?
We could maybe start with Mr. Mintz.