Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll direct my questions to Mr. Cross.
Mr. Cross, in your March 24 column in the Financial Post, you noted the importance of offering direct aid to small businesses. The government has announced a 75% wage subsidy, but a subsidy for which the portal may not be set up for six weeks, meaning it could be almost two months before businesses see one cent of the wage subsidy. It would certainly seem to me that a business that can get by over the next two months isn't necessarily a business that is in desperate need of a wage subsidy, like so many business owners who are literally making the decision right now of whether to retain employees or lay them off—not in two months but today.
In that regard, do you have any comments on the wage subsidy program? Do you think it's the way to go? If so, is there a better way to get the dollars out? Dr. Mintz suggested perhaps going through the banks, or is it better to expand something like the business credit availability program or perhaps some other mechanism to get the dollars out to small businesses that desperately need those supports?