Good morning.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members, for inviting me to appear today. My name is David Bhamjee, and I'm here in my capacity as the Vice-President of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Export Development Canada.
It is a pleasure to be here today and to update you on the ways in which EDC is supporting Canadian exporters affected by the tariffs on steel and aluminum.
I will keep my remarks brief. Hopefully that will leave more time for questions.
The steel and aluminum industries are essential to our economy, and EDC is proud to work with them. We have long-standing relationships with Canadian steel and aluminum companies and, in turn, they know us well. By way of background, EDC is an international lender and leader in helping Canadian companies mitigate risk. We finance export activities. We provide insurance services, connections and support that allow Canadian companies to compete internationally.
In 2017, EDC has served more companies than ever before—just under 9,400 of them, and over 80% of them are small and medium-sized enterprises. I say that because, when Canadian companies are hit, it's important for us to be able to be there for them. That's what we want to speak with you about today.
When these tariffs were levied, we engaged with our own experts internally and with our partners across government and with industry to better understand both what the impact might be and the things that EDC may be able to do to assist. Coming out of those discussions and as part of the government's overall response to the tariffs, EDC has made over $900 million in lending and insurance support available to viable companies in this sector over the next two years. Through this capacity, we're available to provide companies with access to liquidity, capital and risk mitigation solutions. Since the start of the year, EDC has provided $133 million in financing and insurance support to 27 companies in the sector.
As we went through this exercise, we recognized that a big component of its success would concern the question of awareness and making Canadian companies aware of what we can do to support them. To facilitate that, on first of August both EDC and BDC reached out to over a thousand companies in the steel and aluminum sectors, both sub and direct, to let them know about the support that would be available to them. At EDC, this outreach resulted in 27 leads, all of which we have followed up on. Companies have also come to us just seeking more information, but are not necessarily looking for a financial service at this time. When we came across instances where EDC support wouldn't have been appropriate, we looked to direct them to the appropriate partner.
In addition, as part of EDC's engagement with the sector, we continue to participate in the Government of Canada's round tables. We have created an internal task force to coordinate with our regional offices and have launched a dedicated website and a 1-800 number to make sure that companies are connected as quickly as possible with the solution provider best suited to serve them. We remain in close contact with our partners across government, with our customers and with the industry, so that as companies make choices, they know what's available to support them.
Again, I'd be happy to take any questions. Thank you.