Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Daignault, Mr. Denham, welcome to the committee. It is a great pleasure to have you here.
As my colleagues said, you are both doing essential work for our Canadian SMEs that export or that need funding.
I represent a riding in Quebec. Now, as we know, the Quebec economy is largely based on SMEs. I often hear SME representatives talk about funding, marketing products and developing markets. I fully agree when you said that entering into international agreements requires guidance for our SMEs. Indeed, a free-trade agreement provides access to a market, but it requires a lot of support. Having done this for 20 years of my life, I can tell you that getting into or expanding certain markets requires a lot of support, especially in emerging economies.
Could you tell me, from your respective fields, what more we could do in this regard in terms of programs in five or 10 years, so in the short, medium and long term, to help small and medium enterprises with funding, marketing and exporting?