Good afternoon. Welcome to the 46th meeting of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology this 25th of November, 2009. We're here pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) for the study of the recent economic performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada.
In front of us today we have six witnesses from four organizations. We have Monsieur RĂ©millard, who is the Executive Director of Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. We have Mr. Campbell and Mr. Wrobel from the Canadian Bankers Association. We have Mr. Hayes from GrowthWorks Atlantic Ltd. And finally we have Mr. Halde and Mr. Nycz from the Business Development Bank of Canada.
It's nice to see all of you here.
We'll begin with opening statements of about five to seven minutes from each of the four organizations, beginning with Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association.