Mr. Chair, I would like to respond to my colleague Mr. Caron.
We recognize the critical importance of SMEs to the Canadian economy. In the last budget, we reduced taxes for the middle class. We also established the Canada Child Benefit because we believe fundamentally that, by putting more money into the pockets of Canadian taxpayers, we are going to grow the economy and SMEs will benefit as a result.
I took part in the prebudget consultations that were held across the country, from Moncton to Yellowknife. SMEs told us that it was imperative to grow the Canadian economy and that would be the way for them to succeed. We talked with SME people and we understand how industry is structured in the country. If Canadians have more money in their pockets with which to invest in the Canadian economy, our SMEs will do better. That is why, in the recent federal budget, we established a series of measures designed precisely to help SMEs in Canada.