Transport committee  Right now, we're having 100 kilometre per hour winds and 40 to 50 millimetres of rain, which will all fall within a four- to five-hour time period. We will get more wind and rain in Newfoundland and Labrador. We've already experienced that. I have a roof that was damaged in the p

Transport committee  For sure, but what is a—

Transport committee  I haven't had a chance to review the chapter with respect to trucking or transportation. I do take a lot of advice on these matters from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which is reviewing things in detail. I haven't been made aware of any concerns with respect to that. Certainl

Transport committee  Yes, we have, quite vehemently. We have met with the premier and several ministers to express our concerns with respect to the carbon tax. We have asked for the details as to what the province plans and what it is proposing to Ottawa as a solution, and that has not been provided

Transport committee  So far the—

Transport committee  No.

Transport committee  Thank you for providing me the opportunity to appear. I represent the largest business association in Newfoundland and Labrador. We have over 800 members in a province that has a very large and unique geography. It's an island and we have a remote access to Labrador. There are cl

Finance committee  Certainly immigration is critically important. We have more people set to retire than we do to enter the labour force, and the university here—

Finance committee  I'll answer both ways on this. The university has done a phenomenal job here in Newfoundland. It has one of the lowest tuition rates in the country. It has served to attract both international students and students from across the country. The trick is keeping them here and ment

Finance committee  As my colleague pointed out, the tax system in Canada is complicated. We've made Band-Aid changes over the last 40 years, since 1971 or 1972. We really need to start over again. One of the things that my colleagues and I across the country did, through the Canadian Chamber of Com

Finance committee  We certainly are encouraged by it, and the themes that are there, from innovation to immigration, are critically important. It's still in its development stages. Tourism, we would agree, has big potential for Atlantic Canada. I'm not so sure about the Chinese angle on that one. I

Finance committee  We have 850 members in the St. John's Board of Trade. The vast majority, 90%, have fewer than 25 employees, and 80% have fewer than 10 employees, and that's indicative of the entire province. I would hazard a guess that about 90% of businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador are sma

Finance committee  She has several stories.

Finance committee  Thank you, honourable members. Taxes are not the answer. For the past several months we've been focused on these senseless federal tax proposals. It's an unfortunate distraction, because the real problem is not the amount of tax that the federal government collects but the amou