Thank you Chair.
And thank you, Minister, for being here today to deal with our committee's issues, which really, as the previous minister testified, focus on how we grow our trade, our innovative..., how we grow companies, the mandate of the programs that you roll out to business to keep and create jobs.
Just in a general way, my first question is this. Since the economic downturn, entrepreneurs in the country have had difficulty generally accessing capital, especially venture capital. I'm wondering if you can speak to the ability to raise capital, from the perspective of your mandate to fund small and medium sized businesses in the Atlantic region. Perhaps you can do that by way of an example or two of businesses that have benefited from the programs that you oversee.