Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
On the question of small business, one of the things that certainly impressed me was the number of Canadian franchises that moved into the Middle East. For example, Second Cup opened its first franchise outside of Canada in Dubai. A Canadian company called FIDEL had a clothing line, produced in Montreal, that was doing very well. Fruits & Passion and probably a dozen Canadian franchises have moved into that region.
On the issue of fear and concern about doing business, which I think is very fundamental, that's something we collectively have a responsibility to try to overcome. When some of the organizations were considering doing business, I was asked to speak to their boards on some of the concerns they had for their employees.
Even Foreign Affairs travel advisories can have an impact if they're not targeted and very specific. We might be actively promoting participation in a trade show in Dubai, but if there's a general advisory out for the region, it might force some business people not to travel because of perceived risk or even liability issues.
Finally, I honestly think we're at the cusp of something that could be very significant. I see a real momentum. It's possible that maybe even by this fall we could see the initiation of more negotiations with the GCC, whether they're on double taxation, foreign investment protection, or perhaps even free trade.
If the trade committee travelled to the region with so much under way, maybe even the opening of new embassies, what a powerful message that could send to the region about a collective commitment by Canada to increase our business.
I think in this coming year we really are poised to do something significant, or perhaps we'll miss that opportunity again.
Thank you.