Finance committee  It was a measure introduced for the benefit of the Atlantic provinces, yes.

Finance committee  No specific study per se was undertaken. What I would note is that companies have the ability to either use the proxy amount or claim their actual overhead expenditures. While the proxy amount is being gradually reduced, companies retain the option of tracking actual expenses a

Finance committee  Certainly we've seen the preponderance of R and D claimants using the proxy method to an extent that might suggest it is overly generous.

Finance committee  There is no specific data that I can share on that, no.

Finance committee  It's important to realize that with the changes that are being proposed regarding the SR and ED tax incentive overall, there's a spending side as well. Budget 2012 sets out $1.1 billion in new spending for R and D and also makes available $500 million for venture capital. It's

Finance committee  The program spending is set out in budget 2012. I'm not as familiar with the process or how it works through its implementation.

Finance committee  I can certainly give you a rundown of some of the programs that will be—

Finance committee  Absolutely. Let me go through some of them. We have—

Finance committee  It sets aside $500 million for venture capital. Those funds have not been allocated yet, but work is being done on the implementation of those funds. There's $400 million to increase private sector investment in early stage risk capital, and $100 million for the Business Developm

Finance committee  At the aggregate level, there's in the range of 25,000 tax filers per year who make use of the R and D, the SR and ED tax incentive.

Finance committee  The tax filing data is not ideally suited to that, in that many companies are multi-jurisdictional, so it doesn't necessarily give a good indication of which province the activities occur in. The Jenkins panel may have a regional breakdown. We can check for that.

Finance committee  There's a sectoral representation that's put out in the Jenkins report. They took some of the R and D data and program spending data and looked at the distribution by industrial sector.

Finance committee  Certainly working from the fiscal framework that's set out in the budget, there's $1.1 billion on the spending side and $500 million has been made available for venture capital. The total of the R and D changes is about $1.3 billion, I believe, over the five-year period.

Finance committee  Overall there's $1.1 billion on spending and $500 million in venture capital, so that's new money. On the other side there's a $1.3 billion reduction in the SR and ED tax incentive.

Finance committee  I'd certainly draw attention to the new spending that will be available. On the program side, certainly members of the CME, as would other businesses across Canada, would have the ability to access those funds. Where that comes out in the final analysis is uncertain, but it's cer