The tax credit is for investment in research. It's done because we all think it's a public good to have companies that research their ways to being more profitable. It keeps jobs and wealth in Canada. That's why there's a government policy saying, if you do it, we'll give you a tax credit.
There's a hole in that tax credit, a leakage, in that you can't get the credit unless you're making a profit, because you're not paying taxes. So what that does is say, “If you're in trouble, to heck with you. Don't innovate your way out of business. The government is walking away from you.
Because those credits stay, if you get out of trouble, you can get your money. So what the government is doing is betting on our going bankrupt, and then they'll save the money. If we get out of trouble, the money will come; it will only come at the time of profitability. So to count what is in those credits, saying we're kind of hoping all these Canadian companies will go bankrupt so we'll never have to pay them, I find just a little astonishing.
If it's legitimate to provide an incentive to a company that's making big profits to invest in research, I don't see why it's not legitimate to provide at least the same incentive to a company that's trying--not asking for a subsidy, not asking for a handout, but just saying, just give me the tax credit that my profitable neighbour is getting so I can try to innovate my way into profitability.