Mr. Speaker, I want to take up the challenge raised by the secretary of state. I think she is right when she says that we need to talk about the issues related to giving Canada a more investment-friendly image. As the member for Mississauga South correctly pointed out, it is important that the fundamentals be put in place so that Canada can be viewed as a great place to invest.
If I may draw a little on the history of how we came to be the country that we are this year, I remember early on when we, the Liberal government, had inherited a $42 billion deficit and a skyrocketing national debt. We also had a tax system that was burdening the business community as well as individuals.
We had to turn all that around. We were very fortunate that we were very disciplined. We gave a strong signal to the IMF and the Wall Street Journal that in fact we were going to roll up our sleeves and bring about the type of positive change that the Canadian economy required. This is the connection between foreign investment and giving our country a friendly image abroad.
The point I am raising is that on interest deductibility and income trusts, there is not the type of signal that we want to send to foreign investors. It is not the type of signal that people are going to applaud. That is my concern with the manner in which the government is acting.