Finance committee  I agree. It can be problematic, but at the same time there is a lot of expertise in the country and we can identify where bottlenecks are taking place. For example, it is obvious that gridlock in the greater Toronto area actually comes with an enormous fiscal cost. Improved transportation infrastructure in the GTA can have a positive impact both in terms of the short term and creating economic activity, and also helping to facilitate private sector behaviour.

Finance committee  The high level of household indebtedness poses an economic risk in that if you had any sort of economic shock that would result in either higher unemployment or higher interest rates in particular, it would create a vulnerability on the household sector. My understanding and my analysis of the real estate market in Canada suggests that even if you were to have an economic shock, the big risk isn't that Canadians would lose their homes as they did in the United States.

Finance committee  I would concur. Apprenticeships and training programs are absolutely critical to developing the skills that workers need. I would also highlight the fact that we need better labour market information. We are making some progress on this file, but we haven't reached a point where we have the labour market information that businesses need.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your consultations. After contracting in the second quarter, Canadian economic growth is reviving; however, the pace of economic growth will remain modest, and it will take considerable time for the slack in the economy to be absorbed.