If we can even just look at the procurement policies of municipal, provincial, and federal governments.... It's interesting that the SMEs are looking at the same thing that we are in the poverty reduction area in regard to social enterprises, because they're saying, especially with the government wanting one contract for huge contracts, that what happens is that you eliminate the opportunity for the social enterprises or the SMEs to compete on a fair playing field with the international conglomerates.
Did we not hear this morning on CBC that a foreign country is building the Canadian pavilion at the Olympics? Because of the trade agreements that this government has entered into, you cannot use your own procurement to address the issues of homelessness, poverty, and all the things we're talking about.
You are spending billions of dollars. I think when Stephen Owen was minister of purchasing he was trying to get in a policy that actually said we can look at our purchasing and we can add elements to it that weight the social benefits. I think we can look at what the 2010 Olympic committee did by being able to start to put forward, in working with them on policy.... They may not have accomplished a lot directly, but they have set a new standard for the games in the future. The Commonwealth Games for 2014 in Glasgow have taken their policies on procurement and are really using them to create social value.
All of you purchase.... Look at the Government of Ontario. Part of their poverty reduction strategy that they've just passed includes their procurement, because they realized that how they purchase can have intentional impacts.