We have been talking for a long time about the tsunami of business transfers that is expected. I suppose the positive news is that a lot of business owners get to the age of normal retirement and then look at the business, look at the contributions they are making to society by keeping the business going, and then delay their retirement, either because they love doing what they're doing or because they feel they need to ensure that the business stays in that local community because of its contributions.
We had time before demographics started to take hold, but we've run out of that time and we need to be prepared because the clock is not getting kinder to us. At some point, these business owners are going to need to or will be forced to exit their businesses, and at that stage we're moving into a tough environment. If we see the bleeding of our local communities, rural communities, neighbourhoods in big cities, and small, independently owned and operated businesses, and their replacement with giant companies that own everything on the block, as Robyn mentioned, I'm not sure that is the kind of Canada all of us would love to live in.
I think we need to take this very seriously, and I'm hopeful that this legislation will make it across the finish line.