The first thing I would mention is that Mr. Bernier as minister heads a commission the government set up to address the issue of red tape, which is the culprit in regard to small businesses. I have quite a few friends who are small-business people who look at the mammoth bureaucracy and ask, “How do I get through all of this?” I worked with Mr. Bernier when he was Minister of Industry, and I know of no other minister who could bring the degree of passion that he has to this endeavour, and I know he's quite committed to cutting through the paper burden or the red tape to indeed facilitate the activities and the work of SMEs.
Secondly, IRAP, the industrial research assistance program, which is run out of the NRC, is very user-friendly and it has been extraordinarily beneficial to small business. I've been in my job for five and a half years, and it's probably the only program that nobody has ever criticized. I don't know what their magic is. I don't know what these people drink in the morning. And every time I've come to a committee, members from all parties have supported IRAP.
The name of the program in French is PARI.
During the economic action plan, the government invested additional resources, which I think were well used. And we are working with the NRC to see, in terms of our digital economy, how we can again enhance the usage of that program for ICT adoption.
The third thing I would mention is the forthcoming legislative review of the BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada. The BDC is the Government of Canada's primary instrument in regard to providing capital to SMEs. This is not to say that there's a section 15 constitutional right for every small-business person to get a loan from the BDC, but I think BDC does take that extra step of going higher up the risk curve to provide capital where it's needed.
Lastly, the BDC has a really solid venture capital arm to support that entrepreneur who has a great idea but is having trouble finding traditional financing. If banks won't talk to him and if even by BDC standards it's too risky, there is venture capital, which I think is making a difference.