That's a very good question, and thank you again for your focus on small and medium-sized businesses, because every member of Parliament obviously has SMEs in their riding. We know they're the backbone of the Canadian economy.
Let's be honest: If you're a small or medium-sized business just coming out of COVID and you're now dealing with the whole tariff situation and the change in the supply chain, it's been tough. That's why I'm saying the speed, scope and scale of change are quite unprecedented. These things particularly affect small and medium-sized businesses across the country.
I would point out the reform we did on the SR and ED tax credit to make it more predictable. What we heard from small and medium-sized businesses is that this was too cumbersome, because the audit would take years and there was no predictability in how much they would receive. That's why we went to the private sector and asked how we could reform that: “If you had a blank sheet of paper, what would you do?” They came back, and we implemented the recommendations they made. Now you can pre-apply for the credit. If you stay within the parameters, you have the predictability you need. There is no need for a long audit and or to wait for years to know how much you're going to receive.
This has been applauded. This is one of them.
The other one is the productivity superdeduction. That is really giving a hand to small and medium-sized businesses that, in the context of this uncertainty and the tariffs, may want to invest in plant equipment, machinery, technology, robots, automation, AI. This is the kind of boost they need, because that goes to their cash flow. That's the kind of need.
The other thing I would mention, if I have time, Madam Chair, is the buy Canadian policy. What businesses want is not a grant and it's not a loan: They want a customer. We at the federal level—and provincial, municipal, corporate Canada—have been talking to CEOs. We all need to do that, because that's the best way. What they want is a customer, and sometimes to be the first customer, so they can go abroad and say, “Well, my own government believes in my product, my services.”
That's why, for me, this is a game-changer, in addition to removing the interprovincial barriers, as we've seen recently. That could give a boost of north of $200 billion. If you're in P.E.I. and you want to sell in Alberta, Quebec or New Brunswick, removing these barriers is essential to our economic growth.
Those are the kinds of things that we've been focusing on to make sure that SMEs in the country can succeed.