That would help tremendously. Apart from what was introduced in the House this week, a few weeks ago, in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, a loyalty card was issued for all francophone and anglophone businesses across eastern Ontario. Companies and individuals will be able to obtain that card, whose purpose is to support local purchases. This is a francophone initiative, but the card will be available to francophones and anglophones, as long as we are talking about small businesses and social enterprises.
People managing a small or local company could not obtain a loyalty card similar to the Aeroplan card to support local economy, as it was too expensive. The card is available in English and in French, and the goal is to support local economy. There will be a loyalty card from coast to coast to coast to truly encourage people to buy locally.
When the people of Moonbeam elected to buy the village grocery store and invest at home, the logic behind their decision was based on buying local. Previously, not all those people would shop at their grocery store. They would travel 45 minutes to Walmart. However, once they realized that they were losing jobs at home and that buying local maintained those jobs, the logic changed.
The number of initiatives is growing. I saw some in northern Ontario, and in central and southwestern parts. For instance, a small coffee shop in Rockland is also issuing a card. Businesses are trying to find ways to encourage people to buy local on a regular basis.
Beyond the small initiative by the business and its clients, whole regions are now organizing themselves. Some of them are doing so strictly in a francophone perspective. The idea is to establish a buy local and buy in French practice in order to support the economy. Other regional initiatives go beyond the language issue and use bilingual tools to encourage people to buy locally and support the local economy. Through job creation, wealth is being built for everyone in the community.