I didn't know that I would find myself in familiar territory barely 24 hours after being sworn in as an MP.
I would especially like to welcome Mr. Halde, since we did have business dealings in a previous life. The ones I'm thinking about were profitable. I worked as an investor for the Caisse de dépôt et placement and for the Société Générale de financement, and as a financial director for a company with sound liquidity for growth, as well as for other businesses that were rather poorly equipped to weather the crisis.
Mr. Campbell, we will do everything we can to ensure that you are not forced to call in any business loans. Clearly, you don't want to end up owning any businesses. Costs, fees and restrictive clauses are all additional burdens that the business entrepreneur must shoulder. There are restrictions as to what he can or cannot do. In terms of return, interest rate margins are no longer very high. Would you not agree that the fees charged during the crisis were outrageous? Would you not agree that the pendulum swung too far in the other direction? The entrepreneur relies on his business for his livelihood. Mr. Halde stated that 75% of people definitely want to reinvest. That's good to hear, because they are entrepreneurs. They see the world through rose-coloured glasses, but they also have to work hard.
There is a saying that an entrepreneur cannot start anything without first getting permission. I'm listening to you and I would say that entrepreneurs are almost being harassed. Given what happened to the Canadian economy, don't you think that the screws were tightened a little too much? Ultimately, the entrepreneur cracks under the pressure. Isn't there some way for bankers to adopt a more entrepreneurial approach?
I also have a question for you later about start-up capital.