Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, I would like to say something, and it is personal. We are here today in Lawrence MacAulay's riding. This is not by chance either, but I nevertheless wanted to underscore it. I have gotten to know Lawrence quite well over the years. I would say that he works not only very hard, but also very well for the community. I can pay tribute to him today in this way, because we have over time developed a kind of friendship. We are not members of the same political party. I am a member of the Bloc Québecois and I represent the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands, and Lawrence is from Prince Edward Island. He is a federalist; I am a sovereigntist, etc., but we have a common interest, that of helping our people with the various crises and challenges they face. His only fault is that he unfortunately does not know his hockey very well. He is a Boston Bruins' fan and I am a Montréal Habs fan. Apart from that, it is wonderful working with Lawrence.
I would like to hear what you have to say about ACOA. In Quebec, we have what is called Canada Economic Development, with offices spread around Canada. This organization's mandate is to assist businesses in financial difficulty when the regular financial system is not there. You stated very clearly that when you call upon a financial institution for help, it does not work. ACOA, a federal agency, is there to help businesses like yours that are facing difficulties.
What approaches were made to ACOA and what was the response? What recommendations could we make in order to improve things?