Thank you for the kind words, first of all. I appreciate that.
I don't believe that statement. I believe it actually will impact significantly the amount of investment being made by private investors back into our economy. The taxation is getting to the point where it's not viable.
What's missing in the entire plan is the notion that when we start a business, we're not making money at the beginning. Anyone who's an entrepreneur understands that you're putting years and years in where you're giving into the business and you're not taking anything out of the business, with the hope that reward will happen five, 10 or 20 years from the time you start. That investment is onerous. It's very difficult to get through.
You've just heard from the other panellists that this is a difficult journey, and to penalize that reward at the end.... If you spread it out over the 20 years it might take to get that reward, the number of dollars you're actually bringing in to yourself is probably much less than you would make if you had a full-time job. That is true just for the majority of entrepreneurs who sell their businesses, if they can sell their businesses, so it is punitive. I don't believe it's helpful. I think it's actually very punitive to our ecosystem of investment in Canada.