Finance committee  Well, there's no question that the private sector has to step up. In my view, actually, the private sector does a lot of R and D. I think the challenge is how we keep it in Canada. Even the companies you named, they do R and D all over the world. They don't just do it in the Vall

Finance committee  Let me apologize. I'm really not an expert in labour sponsored funds. I do a fair bit of work with venture investors all over the world. My experience in that area is that they are critical to a successful start-up economy, and I do think that historically in Canada we've alway

Finance committee  There are many examples that have been published in B.C. as far as how that's progressed, but there was a recent study done of that credit that showed that for every dollar in tax credits, $2.91 in federal and provincial consumption and income taxes came back. From that point of

Finance committee  There have not been, to my knowledge, in Canada, no.

Finance committee  It's not really my area of expertise, but in general our personal income tax rates are relatively high compared to many other OECD countries', as I'm sure many of you know.

Finance committee  In my view, there is no correlation between, let's say, a 15% federal tax rate combined with a provincial rate that gets you to about 25%, 26%, as being an investment-attraction vehicle. I don't think there is evidence to support that.

Finance committee  [Inaudible--Editor]

Finance committee  The angel tax credit is a 30% tax credit of up to $200,000 annually. It allows a very young company, which typically funds itself through friends and family, to find people who are more entrepreneurial and have access to funds and to leverage the funds for growth at a very young

Finance committee  I would keep it very similar. I think the experience in B.C. is showing that this model, with that ratio of a 30% credit with a cap, works very well. I haven't analyzed the actual cap, as to whether $200,000 is the right amount if you take it federally, but I think it's that mode

Finance committee  I am actually done, but I look forward to your questions and comments.

Finance committee  Thank you very much. Thank you to the committee for inviting me. I will try to say a little bit about the global competitive landscape of what's happening and then focus on three recommendations, with time permitting. In general we see Canada continuing to do well relative to t