Thank you very much.
I appreciate all of you being here today. This is a very important issue and it's great to have your feedback.
Ms. Whiteduck, I want to start with you, if that's okay.
I know that Mr. Dreeshen touched on this a bit, but in another committee we are in the process of completing a study on women's entrepreneurship and leadership in business. I found it interesting that one of the stats we had on it was that almost 40% of small businesses are either completely owned or partially owned by women. In High River, one of the towns in my riding, 80% of the small businesses are owned by women. We're seeing a real trend. They are catching up and surpassing as small business owners.
You mentioned that about 30% of the loans you've given out have been to women. Is this a new trend? Can you say what has sparked this energizing of that part of the business sector?