Thank you. Thank you all for being here. Thank you so much, Minister, for the work that you have done, and thanks to David Lametti. My background is in the area of international trade, so my questions will lead in that direction.
First I want to comment on the consultations that have been done across the country and the positive feedback that I have heard as a result of that. Even though someone may have issues.... For example, on TTP we heard from young high school kids in Toronto. When I spoke with them on the side they were absolutely thrilled to be able to go to the microphone.
I also want to emphasize that the reason for having open mike came as a result of the feedback from the western provinces that individuals did want to be involved more. They were involved and represented by, for example, the Council of Canadians. The individual consultations as a model is an important one because, based on the number of people who attended, to go to the open mike, they either had two or three minutes to present. Our witnesses are getting five. I think it is a good example of representation, and I'm very pleased about that.
On the area of trade, certainly, export readiness is something that we heard from across the country. We know that roughly 98% of businesses are small to medium, and they are represented by associations at the panel. I represent New Brunswick Southwest, which has a population of 70,000 in a region of roughly 2.3 million. Trade is absolutely critical for us. So, Madam Minister, I'd like you to comment on the plan for export readiness. In our riding we are doing workshops on export readiness, but I'm wondering if is there a plan for a rollout to introduce more of the programs that are so excellent in this country to more of the small and medium-sized businesses.