Finance committee  When they say that businesses have more cash balances on hand, that's true. When they say that's dead money or that businesses are not investing, that's not true. Companies are making investments. In fact, today they need to hold more cash because that's the only way the banks ar

Finance committee  There are a number of reasons that I think banks have become more conservative. That's not in all cases, and not necessarily on all projects. But companies have also been drawing from their lines of credit, and that's why they need the short-term assets in the form of cash.

Finance committee  I don't think governments always make the best decisions in terms of the types of technologies that should be supported. The SR and ED program was a program that provided, and could provide, direct support for foreign companies that are making investments in light of the best use

Finance committee  Let me start off by saying it is a concern of ours. I think one of the reasons the SR and ED tax credit worked was that it provided additional assistance to the companies making their own decisions about where best to invest in research and development. There are some strategic

Finance committee  It's especially important for manufacturers and for companies like Pratt and Whitney, Bombardier, and Rio Tinto, who develop prototypes and invest a lot into capital equipment, to do that. I just think we have to be very careful before taking $1 billion out of the SR and ED, awa

Finance committee  Yes, we are. What we're seeing today is the need for companies to become very specialized in the products and services they're producing, whether that's new technology, new product, or new service. The more specialized you are, the larger your market has to be. They are looking f

Finance committee  Less reliance and growth in the U.S. market, but again, the more specialized you are, the deeper you're able to go in the U.S. market. Take E.H. Price from Winnipeg. They've gained 30% of market share in the United States by continuing to invest in new products and development of

Finance committee  We have about 10,000 across the country.

Finance committee  Very much in favour of opening market opportunities, but also making sure that the rules of the game are followed, making sure we have good dispute settlement procedures in place.

Finance committee  In short, not very good. The only way we are going to be able to reduce emissions is to increase the rate of investment in new technology that is going to get us there. So before we look at regulations and carbon taxes, let's make sure we have the right incentive system in place

Finance committee  I've read a lot of remarks in the press lately. A lot of the concerns are extremely overblown. We're looking at an agreement where we would have a better sense of how Canadian investment will be treated in China and where we would know that Chinese investment, when it comes to C

Finance committee  Yes, that's very important. It also provides a basis.... Whether it's investment or trade, we have to see this as not simply a bilateral relationship. Canadian companies are now making investments around the world, but their market is global. They'll be partnering with a Chines

Finance committee  I think we certainly need universities, and we need the highly qualified personnel coming out of universities. But I think we also need to be able to develop the technical and skilled production workers, and we need to be able to connect people who perhaps don't have technical sk

Finance committee  I think whether it's a travel tax credit or a tax credit for mobility, it might be a very interesting measure. One of the problems, of course, is that people flying from the Maritimes to Fort McMurray, or anywhere, are sitting on a house that they can't necessarily sell in the Ma

Finance committee  I think it's very important to understand that the accelerated capital cost allowance is a cashflow issue. It's not necessarily a major investment issue. Companies that depreciate all of their equipment then begin to pay tax, so the government begins to collect that tax after thr