Organizations like EDC and the trade commissioner service for that matter are not well known either among small companies. In fact, when they do learn about them, they often feel like they're not really meant for them and that they're meant for bigger companies. We're constantly educating them ourselves to say, “No, actually, they're meant for you.”
Again, I think it goes back to finding ways to make it easier. I'll give you an example. When you go to the Government of Canada website it's very difficult to find anything specific to small businesses. It's very much focused on Canadians, which makes sense, but it's something that allows them to understand that there's a piece where they can go to get information that they need. It's not easy to navigate. That's where it starts.
There are things that CBSA can do that are a little bit more focused on the information the businesses need to import or export. Even though they're more involved in the importing side, that's where small businesses go to get information. They go to the border folks. They need to also be able to have a more consistent message around what you need to do in order to export effectively.
Ultimately, they've talked about a single window for years. It is the idea that as a small business that wants to get involved in trade, you go to one place and you get all the information you need from all the different government departments. That still doesn't exist. Businesses have to figure out whether they have to talk to CFIA or the USDA or....
That's where these types of agreements can start working together,. It's not only figuring things out on the Canadian side, but it's linking those to the American side, so you can deal with all of those other government departments in one spot instead of having to figure out which ones you have to deal with.
That's what is really going to help small businesses get more involved in trade.