Finance committee  Yes, we do. Our overarching recommendation is that the government introduce immediate expensing for capital investment similar to what the U.S. has done.

Finance committee  We recommend not mirroring it exactly, simply because the definition of investments covered by the U.S. measure is very broad. It includes, for example, structures, and it doesn't include intangibles, where we think there is opportunity to do that here in Canada. The key is that

Finance committee  I'm very familiar with Jack's perspective on this. The thing that I don't think he's necessarily accounting for is the fact that, yes, there is evidence that if you introduce it in a vacuum it may not stimulate additional investment, but what a PwC study showed is that we don't o

Finance committee  Good morning, Mr. Chair and committee members. Thanks for the invitation to take part in your pre-budget consultation. The Business Council of Canada represents chief executives and entrepreneurs of 150 leading Canadian companies in all sectors of the Canadian economy. Our memb

Finance committee  No, I don't. The increases in bank interest rates—and my colleagues from the Canadian Bankers Association may add to this—are largely driven by what the Bank of Canada is doing, and the Bank of Canada is trying to ensure that inflation stays within the target rate. I see that as

Finance committee  Absolutely. The root cause of inflation is the state of the economy, so yes. I was just noting that the Bank of Canada sets interest rates based on the inflation rate.

Finance committee  We don't have 2018 data. The most recent data is from the 2017 balance of payments. StatsCan released this in March of this year. FDI in Canada was at $33.8 billion, which is actually an eight-year low for FDI in Canada.

Finance committee  That's in nominal terms.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  I think the major cause right now is U.S. tax reform and the serious implication that has for a number of sectors. Secondly, though, I think there's the uncertainty factor, which I discussed a little bit earlier regarding NAFTA. Given that 76% of our exports go to the U.S.—it is

Finance committee  Absolutely. As rates go up, there will be pressure on Canadian households. There will also be pressure on governments at all levels that have elevated levels of debt. I noted that the growth of direct spending on interest at the federal level is to increase by 36% over the budget

Finance committee  They are definitely in a worse fiscal position, but the U.S. also has the global reserve currency, which gives them more—

Finance committee  —ability than we do, to point it out.

Finance committee  I would just like to note one more thing about the A.T. Kearney report, which I think undermines its credibility. The report also mentioned the fact that the CETA agreement will be attracting new investment from Europe, and it cited the new investor protection court. We know tha

Finance committee  Exactly. We think the government should run a fiscal policy that is essentially counter-cyclical to the economic cycle. In good times you should be posting surpluses and preparing for a potential downturn. Then, when the economy goes into a recession, you have the funds available