TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 22, 2017) - FEI Canada, the country's leading association for CFOs and senior financial executives, applauds measures to foster innovation and job training, which will enhance the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.

"These proposals are sure to be welcomed by Canadian entrepreneurs, start-ups and other businesses which are trying to stay one step ahead of their international rivals through research and development," said Norm Ferguson, Chair of Canada's Policy Forum.

FEI Canada recommended in its fall pre-budget submission that the federal government should:

• Increase support for innovation, with an emphasis on commercialization, and permit companies to issue flow-through shares.
• Increase collaboration with industry, startups, government and academia, encouraging start-ups to move to commercialization and remain in Canada.
• Invest in pipelines, rail and highway networks as part of its infrastructure focus, to enhance Canada's export ability (using the P3 model where appropriate).

FEI Canada also praised the fact that the government did not increase the federal capital gains inclusion rate at this time.

"Any tax increase on capital gains from investments has the possibility of reducing investment in businesses in Canada, negatively impacting job creation, so we are pleased to see this," said Sandra Pereira, Co-Chair of FEI Canada's tax committee. "We need to be careful about discouraging investment in Canada since this is a major driver of our economy."

"FEI Canada believes that, in ordinary course, government should balance budgets and reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio without raising taxes, to be globally competitive and remain attractive for capital investment," said Michael Conway, President and CEO of FEI Canada. "At this stage, FEI Canada agrees with the government's announcement of continued investment in infrastructure and enhancements to the innovation funding to stimulate Canada's economy."

FEI Canada is the all-industry professional membership association for senior financial executives. With 11 chapters across Canada, it seeks to bring together senior financial executives to further enhance their leadership skills and broader management knowledge. The association membership, which consists of chief financial officers, audit committee directors and senior executives in the finance, controller, treasury and taxation functions, represents a significant number of Canada's leading and most influential corporations. For more information, please visit www.feicanada.org. Follow us on Twitter @FEICanada.