Thank you.
Having formerly been a trade commissioner and then also having managed a section that included all of our trade commissioners in Asia, I'll let the current trade commissioner service answer on where they think the stresses are. From my own experience and just from our conversations here, historically the Canadian SMEs that don't export, that are just domestically focused, generally speaking aren't as profitable, can't pay as high wages, don't pay as many taxes, and they disappear from the landscape faster than SMEs that export do. The mystery was always why the SME that didn't export suddenly decided to export. How did Jocelyn get into the export market? Were they born global? That sometimes happens. Oftentimes it's just a matter of having the ability to trigger the awareness of an export market. Maybe it's North Dakota. Maybe it's just across the border.
A part of it is, definitely—and I would echo some of the statements here—that there needs to be coordination of the various mechanisms. Preparedness is really critical for us, as a business council, for those companies that go on trade missions that we're involved with. One thing that our council does very well, if I may be immodest, in Beijing and Shanghai is to make sure that when they want to meet local companies, we get the right companies across the table from them.
When they're coming on a trade visit sponsored by the trade commissioner service, oftentimes with provincial or federal political leadership, we have to have the right people across the table, and make sure it's the right sector and it's a good match. That sounds easy, but there are a lot of months of preparation to know who's coming on the mission with the ministers or the premiers and what sectors they are in. If it's pipe coating, is it interior or exterior? You have to know the specifics. You don't want to waste people's time. You want to have the right possible partner across the table. I would say preparedness is part of my answer to your question, assisting the trade commissioners in being well prepared and getting the right partners across the table.