Finance committee  Our view on that subject is that it is an attractive feature to have one regulator on that front and one layer of regulation. The nearest comparable thing in tax policy, I would say, would be with respect to various provincial sales tax regimes. We do believe that having a harmonized sales tax—one regime across different provinces—is valuable in that circumstance, and it is directionally similar to be talking about a national securities regulator on that front.

Finance committee  Thank you very much for the question. Your question was why are we focused so much on supporting innovation for large organizations and patents. There are a couple of things. In 2008 the OECD ranked the incentives for R and D across all the major economies. Canada was third for small businesses, but ninth for large businesses.

Finance committee  Yes, we do. We believe that a key part of being attractive to any organization carrying on business--and any individual choosing whether to live in Canada or somewhere else--is stability. A key element of stability is having a legal framework in which the details are all laid out.

Finance committee  I think that's an excellent question. It's a broad question to answer. We believe it's valuable for there to be consultation on important acts of policy change. We also believe it's important to indicate a policy direction and then have a framework for that kind of discussion to take place.

Finance committee  We wouldn't have any view on that.

Finance committee  Again, one of our eight steps to increase productivity is greater education. A key part of our finding on that front was our consideration of risk aversion among Canadian decision-makers. We looked at comparing executive decision-making between the U.S. and Canada. Risk-takers are very similar in Canada and the U.S., but on risk aversion, those who don't take risks are much more conservative in Canada.

Finance committee  There's lots of research that suggests that Canada is simply a less mobile economy than the United States. That has an affect on productivity. It increases the structural unemployment rate. In other words, the longer somebody would remain unemployed, the less willing he would be to make a move.

Finance committee  We believe an important element of productivity in general is actually education, and simply helping people be aware of those kinds of opportunities, of the benefits and costs of remaining, or what jobs may be available. Education is actually a very pervasive element of how there can be improvement on productivity.

Finance committee  I presume the question is for me, so thank you for asking it. There are a number of things that are positive attractions for immigrants to Canada. Part of it is stimulating the various provincial bodies across the country to accept broader ranges of foreign professional accreditation.

Finance committee  Population is a key driver of productivity, and we do see a need to do that, so I would support additional resources on that front. Much of what we're talking about, though, in fact provides an attraction to Canada without much additional spending. That's clearly the first priority upon which we would focus.

Finance committee  Lower tax in the future will result in more revenue collected.

Finance committee  I'll see what I can do to comment on a few of the things you've mentioned. For sure it's true that Canada is an open economy. One of the reasons the reduction of corporate tax rates has resulted in some increase in corporate tax revenue is simply by virtue of the fact that we made it more attractive for corporations to carry on business in Canada.

Finance committee  I think in that circumstance we see a need for lower personal tax rates in total. That doesn't have to be done immediately. One of the effects of signalling, by pointing to a target in the future.... People make decisions based on expectation of future state, not current condition, especially something like moving, changing jurisdictions.

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and representatives. My name is Andrew Dunn and I'm the managing partner for tax at Deloitte in Toronto. Canadians are blessed with a high standard of living relative to the residents of most countries. Forbes recently ranked Canada number one for doing business, and a key part of that ranking was the competitive and stable corporate tax regime.