As a government, we have decided to give businesses an opportunity to amortize their new investments in equipment and machinery over a two-year period; you are absolutely right. The cost of that measure is nevertheless quite high: $1.3 billion over three years. We want to see what kind of impact it has over the medium term. Entrepreneurs and business people have commended us on this new measure. Why? Because by amortizing their equipment as a result of this new initiative, they will now be in a position to purchase new equipment.
There has been a lot of discussion about the rise in the Canadian dollar. That is having quite an impact, one that can have negative repercussions for Canadian businesses. However, there is also a positive side to a strong Canadian dollar. Entrepreneurs buying new equipment in order to be more productive often look overseas or to other countries for that purpose. The strength of the Canadian dollar now means they can acquire that equipment at a better price. So, that is one of the upsides to a high Canadian dollar that is sometimes forgotten.