I would agree with you, Mr. Blaikie.
I think we've heard from the finance minister, as well as the small business minister. This issue was raised most recently at our Canadian Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting in Calgary. We recognize the government is looking to get its fiscal house in order in terms of reducing spending and we fully applaud that.
We think this is a measure in terms of pushing this off for a year, or it would have a more negative impact, specifically on businesses. Businesses not being able to pay taxes or have employees is a concern we have. For them to be directed to find additional funding or loans to otherwise pay that loan back, banks and others aren't willing to fund those at this point in time. What I'm hearing from many small businesses that are going to be significantly impacted is that that's not an option.
We would strongly encourage a rethink or continuing to look at how we can extend that payment schedule so it will better make sure these businesses will be able to survive, because they're still in a very tenuous situation, specifically small and medium-sized enterprises across Canada.