Natural Resources committee  As for the lack of information, there is a responsibility for the federal government to say that the environmental impact is evolving in the oil sands and in the oil industry in general. The kind of information we provided in our poll was, for example, on the use of recycled water in the process, or the evolution of greenhouse gas emissions per barrel.

Natural Resources committee  No actually, I don't think so. Mainly because it's private initiatives. They raise their own dollars. Basically, by providing the right opportunity and the right legislative framework, it shouldn't be a problem at all. Actually, it's kind of the same point. Who knows what quantity we will produce in the future, especially if the market is accessible.

Natural Resources committee  Absolutely.

Natural Resources committee  We haven't, actually.

Finance committee  Obviously if they are required to show those financial statements to their members right now, it shouldn't be that onerous to put one in the form prescribed by a new bill and then disclose it publicly.

Finance committee  As for disclosure of financial statements, the burden should be very light because unions already supply that information to their members in several provinces.

Finance committee  That's a good question, but I am not sure I can answer. I cannot speak to the technical details of the law, nor to what it might represent in terms of a regulatory burden, except maybe—

Finance committee  To me, asking for the information is not a problem. The problem—

Finance committee  The question is about the administrative burden. You have shown that. I think we can agree.

Finance committee  The unions' advantage is that they have a virtual power to tax. To my knowledge, no other private organization has such a power. Professional associations are a good example of public organizations that serve the public interest. They collect compulsory dues from their members.

Finance committee  That's right.

Finance committee  The same is true in France, where unions and employers' organizations themselves voluntarily proposed increased financial transparency for their organizations. And the list goes on. In conclusion, I believe that the logic of the Rand formula does not apply to spending for causes other than those that relate specifically to labour relations because not all employees benefit and the unions' power to tax is not limited to funding their activities.

Finance committee  First of all, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Finance for sending an invitation to the Montreal Economic Institute. I would like to say a few words about our institute. The Montreal Economic Institute is an organization dedicated to research and economic education.