Thank you, Chair.
Minister, thank you for appearing before the committee. The opposition parties, especially the NDP, worked very hard to convince you that circumstances were very bad, given the impending crisis.
That being said, I would like to come back to the issue of workers' funds. Let's not hide from the fact that the Bank of Canada has forecasted lower growth for the Canadian economy. The bank's deputy governor, when giving a speech in Toronto, talked about the disappearance of our exporters. It would seem that one out of five businesses has either changed its mandate or gone bankrupt. Also, we are betting a great deal on a global upturn.
Let's come back to the issue of workers' funds. Since the credit has been abolished, Ontario has seen its position deteriorate. With respect to venture capital funds across Canada, 36% are from Quebec and 36% from Ontario. Yet, Ontario's population is much higher than that of Quebec.
Minister, would it not have been preferable to take the deal offered by workers' funds and still implement your initiative for creating a $400 million venture capital fund? This seems to be betting a lot on the future.