Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As you know, representatives of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business were scheduled to attend today, but the Federation cancelled its appearance on Friday, according to a letter received by Committee members today. The Federation has nonetheless shared some of its concerns with us, and I have turned them into questions.
Mr. Brown, how might public disclosure affect the competitiveness of small businesses in relation to their competitors? Will the registry be public, which might not necessarily be the case for registries in other countries? Could this harm the competitiveness of our small and medium-sized businesses?