Government Operations committee  Thank you so much for that question. I was not aware of that requirement, but I will be doing more research on that and I look forward to learning more.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Bachrach. As I mentioned, we would like to see that foreign direct investment occurring outside of real estate as well. We have seen quite a bit of money flocking to the real estate sector, especially in residential real estate, because returns have historically—in the past two decades—been very strong and more certain, with less regulatory oversight than, honestly, industries that are very job-creating.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. Absolutely I agree that a strong regulatory framework and a Canada that is relatively free of corruption are absolutely necessary for strong foreign direct investment. We do get concerned when we see record sell-offs on the TSX. Even our own pension plans are invested largely in other jurisdictions.

Government Operations committee  That's a great question. I think the business answer to that would be that, yes, we are. If we look at the numbers, we see that at the end of 2023, Canadian investment abroad had grown to $2,171.3 billion, while foreign direct investment in Canada was about $1,360.3 billion. That net direct investment position of $811 billion is absolutely concerning.

Government Operations committee  I don't think it's the case that it's being done, necessarily, with a lack of consultation. I think that there are many very well-meaning people looking at problems that are facing people and industries across many different aspects of regulation. Unfortunately, I think we are not reviewing our regulations frequently enough and we are not measuring how regulation is affecting our economic competitiveness.

Government Operations committee  I think that's a great point and a great question. We have seen very novel regulatory tools to mobilize the private sector in financing massive construction of clean energy facilities in particular. In particular, in Germany they've provided an example of how feed-in tariffs can help accelerate the build-out of wind and solar facilities.

Government Operations committee  I'm sorry. Was that question directed to me?

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Mrs. Block. I will jump in first. Regardless of who forms the next government—and the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, like all chambers of commerce, is strictly non-partisan—we believe very strongly that introducing economic competitiveness mandates across all federal regulators would be an absolutely fantastic first step in ensuring that economic competitiveness is measured across regulators and that they are accountable to it.

Government Operations committee  Thank you so much for the question. Unfortunately, I haven't read that piece in the National Post, so thank you. I would disagree very strongly. I think chambers of commerce across Canada are the grassroots non-profit organizations that serve the widest sector of business groups and employers across our communities.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question, Mrs. Block. The carbon tax works a bit differently in British Columbia than it does in other provinces in Canada. I would be very happy to reach out to my colleagues at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and share their perspectives on the way this is affecting businesses in those provinces, but unfortunately, I can't provide much input on that question.

Government Operations committee  The carbon tax is administered provincially in British Columbia, so we would not be under the same federal regime for rebates.

Government Operations committee  Thank you so much. I have not read this report. I am aware of its requirements, but no, I have not seen it myself.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. I think we would all agree that a perfect regulatory environment is going to balance the public good—public safety—with the interests of business and our broader economy. I'll give you one example: the way we regulate sunscreen in Canada. If you go to the United States, you can pick up a bottle of sunscreen for much less money, and there are more options.

Government Operations committee  I'd be happy to share that. Thank you so much. We had two policies that went forward to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and a third that we were supporting. The third is the one I'll speak about first. It was focused on Canadian-made supply of sustainable aviation fuel. In Canada we often find that our sustainable aviation fuel is refined abroad and shipped to North America, often at great expense, which actually calls into question how sustainable it is.

Government Operations committee  Thank you so much. I have to say I am absolutely not an expert on this subject, but I believe I've seen some of the same presentations you have. What we are seeing with the ports is that we need to move more goods more quickly. We are seeing products reaching Canada with just-in-time deadlines, and those products need to move through our logistics companies into the market very quickly.