The key benefits are going to be for Canadians who don't live near the border, right? On a consumer basis, obviously Canadians who live near the border have had higher in-person duty thresholds for quite some time. The small businesses that are at the border have also had the benefit of being able to cross the border and receive goods and returns in the U.S. and then drive them back across, which we know happens. The real beneficiaries will be both consumers and small businesses away from the border.
We need to level set. E-commerce is still a tiny proportion, less than 10% of total retail. While it's growing well, the growth is coming through domestic e-commerce. Canadians would much prefer to buy in-store first, online second, and when they buy online, they prefer to buy domestically. What they're using international e-commerce for is to fill the gaps.
On the small business side, to Dr. Geist's point, in order to survive and create a robust business, you need to trade outside Canada. I don't think that's news to this committee. Being able to access those foreign markets in a way that is efficient no matter where you are in the country is critical.