Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Perhaps I could ask Mr. Siegel a question. Last week I asked questions to BDC. I mentioned at the beginning that I had heard anecdotal evidence from the business community that they were not acting very quickly, and that certain people had said they needn't apply if they were not already customers. Just to clarify, let me say that I have heard no such comments from the business community on EDC.
But I'd like to still ask you the same general question. When the government commits funding, we want to know how fast that money gets out the door, whether it's for infrastructure or for credit. I thought your statistics were impressive; EDC already this year has undertaken $9.4 billion in new business. But my question is, if the government has committed what I am told is something on the order of $12 billion in new credit for EDC and BDC combined, is there some way of identifying whether the particular new money related to the budget is out the door, already lent? And is there anything you can say about the speed with which you think that may happen, such as that it will be six months, twelve months, three months—that kind of thing?