What's been highlighted by Ms. Rogers and by Governor Macklem has identified the problem, and this is where we begin. The diagnosis of the problem is very important, so we have to look back and think about how we got here. Productivity is a very complicated issue. Many things contribute to productivity. The things that need to happen.... There are signs that things are in the right direction, such as diagnosing the problem and the fact that it's being talked about—this committee speaks to that. This is very useful.
We need to be thinking about many different things that have happened. This is a multi-faceted problem, and there are many things that need to be done to resolve the issue. In these speeches, we've highlighted several of the things that have contributed to the slowdown of productivity but that, at the same time, can benefit productivity growth going into the future.
For example, one of these things, and it was mentioned in the last session, is that the regulatory burden in Canada has increased dramatically. StatsCan produced a paper on this, noting the rapid rise in regulations over the last...in the pre-COVID era, which has reduced the level of investment in the country. The question then becomes, do we have the right amount of regulation? What can we do to make regulation as effective as possible, and make sure that it enhances the ability to invest? That would be one thing, for example.
Another issue that was mentioned in Carolyn Rogers' speech was the link between competition and productivity. We know that, overall, competitive markets tend to be positively correlated with innovation and investment, and therefore with productivity. The OECD has written on this subject for quite some time, about the issues facing competition in the Canadian economy. They propose measures—we're not the ones proposing measures—and think about how we can enhance competition inside the Canadian economy. In particular, it's important to make sure that the competition.... There's innovation, investment and productivity growth. When you target certain industries, certain sectors, that have network effects inside the economy, they can be particularly beneficial. That was highlighted recently in a speech as well.
I'll stop there.