Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This committee has heard a number of times about financing constraints, particularly for new and expanding firms. Organizations such as the Investment Industry Association of Canada have been here, I know, talking about a decline in venture capital financing, for instance, over the past 10 or 15 years.
The real question is about how we get this capital off the sidelines. As I say, I think empirical work on the lock-in effect shows that it's real and could represent a significant obstacle to people moving capital from lower to higher productive investments.
The empirical studies differ, but I don't think there's any question that it would represent a major step forward in terms of access to finance for companies of all sizes.