Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Duncan, a November 2013 Bank of Montreal note prepared by chief economist Doug Porter demonstrated a pretty stark reality for exports in Canada. In his words “there is energy (doing just fine) and there is everything else (doing anything but fine)”.
The note shows that in 2013 energy exports saw a $63.6-billion surplus while the basket of all other goods in Canada saw a deficit of $72.9 billion. Worse, this huge gap has been growing since 2004.
What do you believe the Canadian government needs to do to address this significant imbalance in exports and generate a diversified and balanced economy beyond just the energy sector?