Representatives from Industry Canada told us that 5.1 million people, nearly half of the labour force in the private sector, work in small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada. These small- and medium-sized businesses are very annoyed with the way that your department deals with them. I believe that this was said openly before this committee.
I am wondering, given the difficult economic times, whether or not it would be appropriate to rethink to process for awarding contracts. We have resolved the information technology contract awarding process, but we know that you want to group together contracts pertaining to furniture and other aspects.
Would it be possible to ask your deputy ministers to ensure that more priority is given to small- and medium-sized businesses and that consideration be given to the economic contribution they make in Canada, which is currently experiencing a recession?