Thank you.
I think you've put on the record a very important analysis of the situation and what separates the government position from the opposition position on taxation.
There's no question that right now we have the lowest tax rate for new businesses in the G7. By 2012, we'll have the lowest tax rate for any businesses in the G7. That is an important point for our competitiveness as we seek to make it easier for domestic businesses to grow and compete, and also to invest foreign capital when it's advantageous for Canada and Canadians.
The other point I would like to make based on your remarks, which should be known by Canadians, is that the current corporate tax reductions--business tax reductions--are already booked. They've been passed in budgets, so any change is actually a tax increase in terms of the expectations of our businesses and their forward planning. It is not correct when the Liberal opposition says they are freezing taxes. They are actually increasing the taxes, because the tax rate reduction was already booked in a budget.
Having said that, I note that there's no question: our current policies are being noted around the world. I notice, and Mr. Van Loan, our trade minister, notices that there is increased interest in Canada as a safe place to invest, with business-friendly policies that can allow a business to grow and add more jobs and more opportunity.
I see that when I go to innovation conferences and competitiveness conferences. I went to one in San Diego three weeks ago, and basically Canada stood almost alone, but certainly apart, because of our policies that are going to grow businesses and grow investment into the future. That's an anecdote, perhaps, but anecdotes tell a story.