Industry committee  I think we do need strong representation and relations in countries where there are strong growth markets. As Steve mentioned, in Africa and Asia their growth rates are much higher than anything we've seen in Canada or the OECD for many years. So we need to be there. That's where the future is.

Industry committee  On coordination, it is complex, but it is in the interests of both sides, federal and provincial, to have a structure that promotes investment. So there's an interest there, and usually if there is an interest you can find a way. One of my concerns is that we don't resist regulation at all, but often the federal departments that have the responsibility don't have the resources to be efficient.

Industry committee  Yes, but they're moving as well. We'll be better off all right. And of course one of the problems always is that the feds are worried that if they make room, the provinces will just move into it. It's been my experience--and I was in the industry department for years--that if you go and tell what you're going to do, sit down with the provinces and say, look, here's how this works, if you're trying to locate investment, you can get cooperation sometimes from the most unusual places.

Industry committee  Mr. McTeague, I would return to my generality, which is to say that basically outside North America or the OECD countries, it's very hard to distinguish the political from the economic and from the good personal networks. That's why it's very important for us to have a Canadian government presence in these key markets.

Industry committee  And the resources of Foreign Affairs.

Industry committee  If you look at Africa, I must say the EDC is getting more and more helpful in higher-risk markets there. The returns are best. They need us there; we've been the number one engineering company in Africa for many years because they need us. In the United States they have lots of engineering companies.

Industry committee  I spoke before about the need to have a reliable regulatory structure and strong government support for AECL, which has developed CANDU technology and employs over 20,000 Canadians. Without strong government support and commitment from the provincial and federal governments, and regulatory support, that technology probably won't survive.

Industry committee  If I could just add to what Steve said, in my view, in order to ensure the most efficient supply chain, it is important to be able to look either within and outside the country in order to optimize business practices. At present, we have a contract to manage all federal and Government of Ontario buildings.

Industry committee  It's interesting. Canada has been slow in coming to the public-private infrastructure model. A lot of other countries are far ahead of us. Obviously, it gives us a capability to compete internationally on these projects having some experience at home, because each one is different.

Industry committee  I've heard the sorts of stories you have, yes.

Industry committee  I think you would have to admit that the relations between the governments aren't as warm as they have been in the past.

Industry committee  It hasn't affected our business a lot because we haven't been doing a lot of business in China. We've been there for a long time. We would have liked to have done a lot more, but in fact we haven't seen a change in our business there.

Industry committee  We've been there for a long time. We've done a certain number of projects there. We've worked with them on cleaning up some dirty industries, chemicals and steel, over a 10-year period, actually with a CIDA project. I don't know about those cities you're talking about, but I will say that the Saudis are talking about six new cities like this, and we're involved in a group that's looking at that.

Industry committee  I'm representing a big corporation, so I would have to say the corporate tax. It's something we can see because we're in a competitive market, so we need to be on even ground with our competitors.

Industry committee  Thank you, Chairman. I think I've met just about all of the committee people here. I'm happy to be here today too. I haven't appeared before this committee, although I think Jacques Lamarre, our president, did on the last five-year review of EDC. EDC is a very important partner of ours.