Thank you, Mr. Chair, and happy Hanukkah to you, sir.
Thank you, Minister, for joining us today and for your very hard work in presenting a generational budget for Canadians.
I'd like to talk a little bit about what British Columbians would like to hear from you. The U.S. Institute for Supply Management reported that last week that U.S. manufacturing contracted for the ninth consecutive month. Factories are facing slumping orders and higher prices for inputs. Despite what our friends from the opposite side here say about Canadian jobs, the President's tariffs are shrinking...the U.S. manufacturing sector has shrunk. While that's happening in the U.S., Canada is being looked at as a reliable partner around the world.
Can you maybe talk a little bit about the measures in budget 2025? Again, British Columbians would like to know what work you've done on cutting red tape and with regard to the superdeduction productivity measure. How is that going to improve our competitiveness in Canadian manufacturing?