Thank you, Mr. Ste-Marie.
You asked many questions. I want to share my short speaking time with my colleague, Alexandre Gagnon.
I want to say that we welcome the drop to 15% for March. However, quite frankly, this should be the case for April and May, in order to include even more small businesses affected by this crisis. Whether the drop is 15% or even 30%, some businesses, such as professional services firms, have trouble demonstrating this within the three-month period, given the nature of billing and payment cycles. An extension would be needed.
In terms of SMEs, our organization and other organizations are very pleased with many of the programs currently available, particularly the SME loan and guarantee program with the BDC.
We're wondering about a number of issues. Will the money be allocated on a first come, first served basis? The amounts aren't unlimited. Will it be based on the real needs of businesses or will there be a territorial representation factor? Otherwise, some parts of Canada may not receive their fair share of the total amount.
I'll leave the floor to my colleague, Mr. Gagnon.