Finance committee  We did an analysis. It's always difficult to tell, in the context of the broader international shipping changes, how many jobs that would attract to Canada, and we couldn't come up with a number. The attraction of shipping companies to Canada was clearly one of the main motivating factors for bringing our international shipping rules up to shape.

Finance committee  Of course. We did consult on this measure. We consulted with Canada Revenue Agency on the development of this measure, and they provided the opinion that under the existing law cable laying does not qualify as international shipping. They would have knowledge of their interactions with the cable-laying company that came before this committee.

Finance committee  As was noted, there were two purposes for the international shipping amendments. The first was to modernize the regime and provide more flexibility for what we would consider international shipping companies to utilize modern business structures and to fulfill the purpose of the rules, which related to what were classed as international shipping activities in the current legislation.

Finance committee  For it to be carved out under these rules and these specific amendments, you would have it deemed to be a non-resident under section 261, I think. Then the other component of the rules is under section 81, where there is reciprocity, where the other country in which they are resident provides the same thing to Canadian shipping companies as well.

Finance committee  —incorporated in the Cayman Islands and its mind and management are there as well; they have their headquarters, CEO, the people making the real decisions in the Caymans. Then I guess in general terms, it would not be subject to Canadian tax, unless they're undertaking some Canadian business.

Finance committee  Yes, that's where I was leading. As a general rule, they would be exempt from Canadian tax, unless they had some Canadian connection, for example, carrying on business in Canada. In that case, where you're not in a country that has exemption from Canadian tax such that you'd be exempt under section 81, I think you'd still be taxable in Canada.

Finance committee  If you had a country that doesn't have this kind of reciprocal treatment, then you wouldn't see any exclusion in section 81 that prevents them from being subject to Canadian tax. Then, if under the general Canadian tax rules they're taxable in Canada, they would be taxable in Canada.

Finance committee  The international shipping rules have been around for quite some time, and the purpose is to modernize them. It provides a definition of “international shipping”, and what qualifies—we discussed that earlier—which provides certainty to taxpayers. A lot of the amendments are designed to modernize and provide more flexibility and to reflect modern multinational corporations and their business structures.

Finance committee  That's right.

Finance committee  Yes, and if you go to the definition of “international shipping”, which is on page 185, and in particular, proposed paragraph 248(1)(g) of the definition, there's an exclusion from what qualifies as international shipping that applies to “oil and gas activities”, and that's refining something offshore.

Finance committee  That's right. It's an exclusion from an exclusion.

Finance committee  The residency of an international shipping corporation, under these rules, is determined by.... If you fall within the rules, you're deemed to be not resident in Canada even though you might otherwise be. The determination of where a corporation is resident is often a question of fact, where you look to not just the place of incorporation but rather to where the mind and management of a corporation lie.

Finance committee  Just so I understand your question, you have a corporation, and I don't mean to pick on the Cayman Islands—

Finance committee  The question we were looking at in setting the limits of the definition was what ought to appropriately be considered shipping, which in very general terms was considered to be taking persons or property from point A to point B. It excludes things like laying cable, which is doing work at sea, rather than transporting a cable from one point to another internationally.

Finance committee  I believe so. I know that other countries' rules were consulted in coming up with the list, as well as the current administrative practice of the Canada Revenue Agency. As to that specific one, I would have to go through our notes. But the general policy is, as I stated before, that it was considered to be doing work at sea, which is to say installing or laying the cable at sea, rather than transporting a good from one point to another.