Again, I think you'll find that the general consensus amongst economists around the world is that free trade is the single biggest contributor to global GDP growth.
So having said that, it's really up to constituent, if you like, parties to that agreement to take advantage of the opportunity. The problem with the free trade agreement with the United States is that Canadian business rallied and took advantage of that opportunity and generated jobs and economic growth, but it has made us more dependent on the United States. That's a concern, and it's a concern because if you look at global economic statistics, the emerging middle class and the growth in the middle class are not going to come in Europe or in the United States, they're going to come in Asia.
So Canada has to reposition itself. It needs to do two things. It needs to make sure that its industries, companies, and emerging companies—especially its small business community, which is so important to job growth—understand that their mandate is a global mandate. This is not about building a company in Nova Scotia to do business in Nova Scotia or to sell in Newfoundland. This is about building a company in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland that can do business around the world. That's a really important initiative, if you like, at the grassroots level.
Second, we have to encourage business to get out there and do what it can to export around the world. One of the things that the government can really be helpful with is this. If you look at the German model, if the German model stands out in Europe as being an export-led model that has done great things, one of the things that the German government does is that it really helps small business by investing heavily in trade development and support missions at its embassies and cities around the world. If you talk to German industry, especially small business—not the big guys, but the guys who can afford their staff—this is what we need to do.
So it's not just enough to sign a trade agreement. That's just the start. It's about what follows through on the trade agreement. What are we going to do to help those industries that are going to go through dislocation? And what, more importantly, are we going do to support those industries for which there is now a new opportunity as a consequence of the agreement?