Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon, Mr. Orr.
I listened to your analysis attentively, at least to what you said about the high dollar we're living with right now. I would like to ask you two or three questions, and you can decide on the order in which you want to answer them.
I'm from Quebec, where there's a problem with employee relocation. One of the reasons for that is that, in the construction industry, for example, Quebec's Act respecting manpower vocational training and qualification prevents workers from Ontario, Alberta and all the other provinces from working in Quebec. However, I could go and work outside Quebec, but when people know that they can't come and work in Quebec, they don't hire me to go work for them. That's the first problem, and I'd like to know your opinion on that subject.
Second, you mentioned “apart from employee relocation”. I pay my taxes in my province in Canadian dollars. I pay approximately 50% of my salary in income tax, and the Quebec government takes my money to pay down a debt in U.S. dollars. I'm currently giving the same amount, 50% of my salary, but it repays the amount of the debt twice as fast. The Quebec government isn't complaining right now because this suits it. It's paying its debt like it never did before. Quebec has $112 billion in debt, and we can pay, precisely because of the appreciating value of the Canadian dollar.
Third, as a government member, how can I do or suggest anything when our monetary policy depends on the Bank of Canada? It's supposed to be independent from us. We aren't even supposed to make recommendations to it. So, from what I understand, how can I do anything today, even something minor, to influence the value of the dollar, if we have to influence it?
Those are my three questions.