Finance committee  Absolutely, I confirm that's correct. It would be very important for any economic recovery plan to have that data.

Finance committee  I think what's going to be very important is creating collaboratives of employers at the local, community level, because there are different.... When it comes to what skills are being supplied in the labour market, we generally know and have information on that. We don't necessarily know what skills are being demanded by employers.

Finance committee  Absolutely. We have been looking at a model that's been done by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce down south, which has been piloted in 30 different states very successfully. We're looking at bringing that up to Canada with potentially 150 different pilot projects across the country.

Finance committee  Thanks for the question. I'll start with the alcohol escalator tax, which we do believe should be paused. I'm not sure that I know too many policy experts out there who think it's good tax policy to have a tax that goes up every year in perpetuity without any end in sight, or without a motivation for it, particularly in the middle of the largest economic downturn in almost a century.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It's a pleasure to be here virtually today. In the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic and a second wave, it is difficult to think beyond confronting the immediate effects of COVID-19. However, even as we continue supporting each other today, we must also begin looking over the horizon to the post-COVID-19 world.

Finance committee  It's a very tight labour market right now in Canada for sure. There are a couple of different aspects to this. There is a skills gap, at least in terms of what's being demanded in the market versus what's in the labour supply. Particularly in certain areas of the country, maybe some underserved areas when it comes to the labour market, there is a shortage of labour in those areas, too.

Finance committee  Yes, we can certainly improve on having granular data at the local level. It's very important, too, to be able to match those skills to where they're demanded. The skills that are needed in rural Newfoundland are going to be very different from what's needed in downtown Calgary, so it's important to have that information to be able to have that pipeline.

Finance committee  Yes, absolutely. There are definitely federal departments that are very much involved in data collection. There are two ways to collect data—through surveys or through a footprint that's left. I know the federal government is experimenting with some of these new methods to be able to gather that.

Finance committee  Maybe what I'll do is answer that in broader strokes, and my colleague, Mr. Henry, can respond more specifically to what you're asking about. I will start by saying that the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has supported a carbon pricing regime for almost a decade now, but it has to be properly implemented.

Finance committee  It's a huge burden. Once again, there's an IMF study that says it's a 4% hit on GDP per capita in Canada. It's also potentially even a low-cost or no-cost way to improve productivity and generate economic growth in this country. The business community was generally receptive of the initiative taken in the fall economic statement in 2018, but the issue is that the number of regulations that pose an undue burden on Canadian business still has increased since that point.

Finance committee  The de minimis issue, when it came to the negotiation of USMCA, was certainly a concern for the chamber. We are at a point right now where, in terms of a lot of the uncertainty it has created in the national economy, getting rid of that cost and the negative impact on our economy is something we really need to move forward with.

Finance committee  Absolutely. We've been advocating for a plan with concrete timelines to get the federal books back to balance. I certainly understand the argument of debt-to-GDP as a fiscal anchor; I think it's often misunderstood. A lot of the arguments come from a fellow economist, Olivier Blanchard, who used to be the chief economist of the IMF.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It's a pleasure to be here today. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, representing a network of over 200,000 businesses of all sizes from every sector and region of the country, has a simple message when it comes to the theme of these pre-budget consultations.