Okay. Thank you.
In the current climate, it is important to encourage our SMEs to diversify their export markets. The government could provide incentives to foster diversification primarily in an effort to somewhat counter the usual response of turning to the North American market. Perhaps such measures already exist. This would certainly be a good message to send. We have heard it from Canadian federal leaders. With regard to these measures, there may be incentives for businesses that could be considered.
As we stated in our earlier remarks about barriers, the availability of Canadian government representatives is sometimes inadequate. Our organization could step up, identify the best candidates among businesses that may not yet be exporting and help them become exporters. In our opinion, this type of assistance is encouraging for businesses and provides them with more information about opportunities if they take advantage of export measures. They can be put in contact with several stakeholders, such as federal and Quebec government representatives, among others.
We are at the heart of a network or an ecosystem that brings together many stakeholders. We are familiar with government assistance programs and we can also network with other companies that have taken the same approach. In a way, we are a very useful tool that leverages the Canadian government's intervention.
In closing, I will add that when a free trade agreement is signed, we have to look at it as the starting point and not just the ultimate goal. Few businesses have the ability to unravel the text of a free trade agreement, and when they do it can still be difficult. These agreements use very technical terms. When an agreement is signed, the content must be put into layman's terms. We must use the tools available to explain to SMEs what was agreed to. It is very important that SMEs understand the agreement. It is an ongoing effort.
Fortunately, the impact is felt fairly quickly. That was our experience following exchanges with the Montreal Port Authority. There was a huge increase in trade flows, and others have been initiated in recent months. That is a good sign. However, what we are hearing is that these recent flows have generated more imports than exports.