Thank you, Nav.
Thank you, Mr. Siegel. Congratulations on your appointment as well.
In my time as a member of Parliament working with local businesses in my constituency in New Brunswick, I've had a chance to see first-hand some of the good people who work for Export Development Canada. The people in the regions whom I've met, without exception, have been outstanding people trying to fit what tools they have to meet the needs of clients, often in industries and in a region of the country where sometimes it's not obvious to see where they fit in. So my experience with your regional staff has been, frankly, very positive, and that's why I would like to ask a question that builds a bit on what you said a minute ago.
Often financial institutions use the products and services you're offering as comfort when they're entering into a business relationship or a transaction with some small company, for example, that exports seafood. In my part of New Brunswick, exporting shellfish and seafood is a big industry and it's fraught with complicated transactions and dependent on a whole bunch of factors that often the small-business person himself or herself can't control. That's why tools offered to them by EDC can be very valuable--in fact, even having a financial institution look at an application that they may have, be it for a line of credit, be it for export purposes.
I'm wondering if you have any specific plans to try to make EDC a visible presence in small communities and small-market economies. You talked about that a minute ago. I'm wondering if you could expand on that.
For example, in New Brunswick I think many business people don't understand the advantage, in many cases, of dealing with EDC or meeting with EDC officials to see if there are places where you could help and offer appropriate services. Are you going to aggressively look at that? They see EDC, in some cases, as an Ottawa institution that services large companies in Toronto or Montreal or out west, and they don't realize that in many cases a very complementary relationship can develop.
I'm asking you to promote that more and to give the people you have in places like New Brunswick more resources so that they can try to get more clients for your company, because I think in the end they'll benefit from a relationship. Both sides will, both EDC and the client.