Finance committee  The real hope is that this bank will spur on projects that haven't been done already. These would be projects that the federal, provincial, and municipal levels have not been able to deliver for whatever reasons, so that includes megaprojects. I'd note, too, that it's not just pe

Finance committee  We haven't done the analysis ourselves, but we know from past infrastructure spending that there are massive spinoffs going into the steel industry, into employment, into the construction industry. Infrastructure will inevitably be a big boost to the overall economy.

Finance committee  Sir, absolutely not. In my opening remarks I made the point that one of the things we asked the government for, going into this budget, was a very clear fiscal anchor. We are extremely concerned about the fiscal situation at both the federal and provincial levels. It is absolutel

Finance committee  Our concern is that, particularly at the provincial level, as the aging population drives up health costs, ultimately that will be borne by the federal government. We do think there's a—

Finance committee  I would just point to the Canadian track record on P3s. We've been doing these for about 22 years now. We've had over 236 projects and spent nearly $100 billion. There are many examples of very successful P3s, so I think Canada has done a good job here. I don't know about the U.S

Finance committee  I definitely don't believe we're at the vanguard. I think other countries have adopted this model. Australia has a good example of a model that has been quite successful. That said, there is a lot of capital out there. There is no shortage of capital in the world, so even if we'

Finance committee  For a long time, one thing that the council has called for that we think would really help attract greater investment, and I know this committee has looked at it closely, is comprehensive tax reform, having a tax system that is very clear and concise with a minimal number of taxi

Finance committee  Sure. We think the P3 model in Canada has actually been very successful. The infrastructure bank could still use the P3 model. I don't see the infrastructure bank as necessarily an improvement over the P3 model. Our hope is that it will address projects that wouldn't go ahead—

Finance committee  Right. Yes. Our hope is that it will used to help bring private capital into projects that would not go ahead without this bank, this megaproject idea. That's our hope. Those could still be done using a P3 model through the infrastructure bank. We think it's a welcome addition t

Finance committee  We believe that foreign investment is generally good except in very unique circumstances. A lot of foreign investment can lead to headquarters being established in Canada. ISED tracks all foreign investments. They still even track investments below the threshold. We welcome forei

Finance committee  Thank you. Mr. Chair, and committee members, thank you for the invitation to take part in your consultations on Bill C-44. I have some very short opening remarks. I will give you the general overview from the Business Council's perspective on the budget, and then I'll specifical

International Trade committee  Sure. Thank you. It's a great question. It is something that we've looked at. We do have examples of large Canadian companies that have done business with and made major investments in Europe in part because they have links to certain countries. There are examples of it happe

International Trade committee  I can't speak on his behalf, but I would say—and I mentioned this in my comments—that Canada, with its suite of trade agreements now, is an increasingly attractive place for large multinationals to invest in and to use Canada as an export platform. Once CETA is in place, if we go

International Trade committee  Thanks for the question. Similar to what Mr. Everson was saying, CETA is a continuation of Canada's trade policy strategy. It's the most comprehensive agreement we've ever negotiated. In terms of tariff elimination and the sectors it covers, it truly is a world-class agreement

International Trade committee  Thank you. Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you for the invitation to take part in your consultations on Bill C-30. The Business Council of Canada represents the chief executives and entrepreneurs of 150 leading Canadian companies in all sectors and regions of the coun