Compete to win : Foncer pour gagner : rapport final juin 2008

We rank poorly across almost all aspects of innovation: the creation of knowledge, the diffusion of knowledge, the transformation of knowledge and the use of knowledge through commercialization. [...] When we assess what we heard and what we learned in the light of our premises about the benefits of productivity growth and the central importance of competition in achieving those benefits, we conclude that improving Canada’s competitive position is the key to ensuring that future generations of Canadians will enjoy the levels of opportunity and prosperity that Canadians have come to expect. [...] In this report, the Panel lays out the evidence underlying its conclusions about the nature of the problem and the urgent need for changes to Canadian public policy and the mindset of Canadians. [...] In the past, Canadians faced changing and adverse economic conditions, overcame risks and took great strides to improve our competitiveness, beginning with the implementation of the Canada–US Free Trade Agreement in 1989, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in 1991 and the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994. [...] In concrete terms, the change in the disallowance standard would mean that an investment that would not have been able to meet the former net benefit test would be able to proceed without intervention from the minister, unless it was a case where the minister’s concern with regard to the factors required to be considered under the ICA rose to the level of the national interest.