Finance committee  For our industry, it's probably a misnomer. It doesn't align well. I think if you look at our business, it's regulated to have certain amounts of debt and certain amounts of equity. That's to keep the cost of energy affordable for customers. It just so happens that the amount of debt is significant relative to other industries.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Can I help with that, Michael?

Finance committee  The proposed legislation change that Electricity Canada put forth focuses very specifically not just on a general exemption but on an exemption for specific debts. Those debts need to be traced under the typical classical interest deductibility tracing principle. You need to trace those debts to a good purpose, and that good purpose is that it's related to a regulated utility that sets rates through a regulator and the proceeds of those debts are used indirectly or directly in that utility business.

Finance committee  The rules effectively come into play for parent companies that hold private utilities in Canada, but also have investments in foreign operations, be they utilities or a non-utility. There are costs that are at the parent company that effectively are borne by the parent but influence what happens down at the regulated utility level.

Finance committee  I'll speak specifically and use the example of Nova Scotia. Over the next three years, the Nova Scotia utility, Nova Scotia Power, would anticipate incremental costs of a combined $50 million over that three-year period as a result of denied interest, i.e., our tax costs will increase.