Through the first half of the 1990s, Canada lagged behind the United States in making the investments that are necessary to take advantage of new technologies. But since 1996, there has been a surge in such investments in Canada. And in the last couple of years, we were beginning to see the first signs of a productivity payoff.
Once the prevailing global uncertainty and the cyclical forces that are now constraining output and investment growth in Canada dissipate, we will likely see more efficiency gains from those past investments and more capital spending on innovations. And once the necessary adjustments are made to deal with the need for heightened security, those innovations will mean rising standards of living for Canadians. . .