You talked about businesses that fared the best, that are the best organized, that have sound output levels or that successfully streamlined their operations. Would these be large or small businesses?
In 2007, the value of the loonie spiked, along with the price of oil. As a result, all businesses turned to a just-in-time production system. At some point, there is no additional room for improvement and costs can no longer be slashed. The businesses you are referring to were likely well-established ones, not new ones.
What happens to new businesses that cannot streamline their operations? Were they forced to file for bankruptcy or did they try and find other credit sources? Regarding Mr. Hayes' comments about new credit—in Quebec, we refer to the Fonds de solidarité FTQ—would it be fair to say that the $5,000 contribution limit should be increased and that we should revert back to a 20% tax credit for both levels of government, in order to directly inject some venture capital into businesses?
I'd like to get your opinion on these two questions.