International Trade committee  Isn't that a nice business story?

International Trade committee  Which industries?

International Trade committee  The Canadian airport infrastructure has made leaps and bounds over the last 20 years. There's a lot to commend in our deregulated system. I mean, you could eat off the floor in some of our Canadian airports. They're absolutely pristine. They're just beautiful and make a fantastic first impression.

International Trade committee  John Manley is our CEO and president of the board.

International Trade committee  Let me tell you the good news story. The good news story is that the—

International Trade committee  Let me make the distinction clear: our small, not-for-profit business, which employs about 12 people, represents 150 CEOs whose companies are responsible for that $850 billion in revenue and $6 trillion in assets.

International Trade committee  The CEOs themselves are our members.

International Trade committee  Yes, absolutely. The good news is that the Canadian economy of course does continue to grow and, I would note, is redistributing that value across the Canadian economy and Canadian society with absolute numbers of average incomes rising steadily and with our quality of life. Unfortunately, our membership is capped at 150 CEOs.

International Trade committee  The more the merrier.

International Trade committee  I would say an unequivocal yes and the business environment in Canada has consistently over decades been rated among the best in the world. That relates to some fundamental factors that have been very stable. Those are: the rule of law; an excellent public service that has incredibly low levels of corruption, which companies frankly face in other jurisdictions; an excellent business tax structure, an income tax structure that taxes the right things, which are consumption and after-profit income, and really puts an emphasis on job creation.

International Trade committee  Unfortunately, I don't know why the federal government has not given its approval. I am not familiar with that process. However, I have to say that infrastructure is economically important for airports. It's not very complicated. The entire business community should participate in the assessment of an airport's request for approval.

International Trade committee  Sure. Let me give you an example. Canada has an air transport agreement with India, which is a really exciting emerging market. But exactly to your point, the capacity is not fully being used. There is only a once-a-day direct service by jetBlue through Toronto. We'd like to see far more, but that's because we'd like to see far more trade generally between Canada and India.

International Trade committee  Absolutely, it has given them more assurances. There have been many myths around that FIPA. It is more than China had ever offered to any other country. It doesn't map perfectly onto our FIPA agreements with other, what I would call perfectly commercial markets, but it is still a fantastic opportunity for Canadian investors.

International Trade committee  Jay, you take that. It's Buy America.

International Trade committee  Yes, we have. I would commend the department of trade for the outreach both on GMAP and between trade and transport departments. The outreach on the air transit agreements has also been excellent.