I'd like to make a quick point of clarification for my colleague Mr. Keddy and for the entire committee and just explain the SFF and ACCA. Some would say that if you combine them, you'd have the SFA program, but that's not what I'm suggesting.
If you're a Canadian shipowner buying a vessel, and you buy a Norwegian vessel, you qualify for the Canadian accelerated capital cost allowance and for Norway's structured finance facility. But if you buy a Canadian vessel, you'd have to choose between the structured finance facility or the accelerated capital cost allowance. That is the issue. Effectively, for a Canadian buyer, it represents a competitive disadvantage to buy a Canadian vessel.
Alternatively, if you're a foreign buyer and you have a choice, and you buy a Canadian vessel, you can qualify for the structured finance facility offered by the Canadian government and at the same time qualify for your own country's accelerated capital cost allowance.
So that's the point: for Canadian buyers, the current system represents a disincentive to buy from Canadian shipyards. That would be rectified if we were to allow the two programs to be simultaneously available.
Thank you.