Mr. Chair, as many members of the committee know, CFIB is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization representing more than 109,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Canada who collectively employ more than 1.25 million Canadians and account for $75 billion, or nearly half of Canada's GDP.
Our members represent all sectors of the economy and are found in every region of the country. Addressing issues of importance to them can have a widespread impact on job creation and the economy.
You should have a slide presentation in front of you that I would like to walk you through in the next few minutes.
CFIB's March business barometer on slide 3 shows a slight dip from last month, bringing us close to our initial measures in January of this year. So far, business operating conditions in 2014 have been stable, but not overly robust. We are seeing improvements in the prairie provinces, but only 36% of business owners see their businesses as being in good shape right now, the lowest reading since mid-2010.