Minister, you delegated the responsibility for helping these businesses to banks, when you could have found other solutions. You could have guaranteed the $20,000, for example. You could have made sure that businesses didn’t lose it.
The deadline has now passed. You did not accept the proposal to guarantee the $20,000 and work with banking institutions to make sure that businesses don’t lose the subsidy. Could you at least show a bit of flexibility and create a direct helpline so that entrepreneurs can discuss the possibility of an agreement?
A helpline exists, but people can’t talk to anyone at all. The staff at the other end are not up to date on the program, and entrepreneurs are not getting answers to their questions. That’s not managing a program, Minister. Managing a program means being able to ensure that there is a direct helpline and people can talk to someone.
We can do it with the Canada Revenue Agency. If a person has trouble paying their taxes one year, there’s flexibility for them to work out a repayment agreement. The opportunity is there. Why could we not offer it to entrepreneurs?
As we speak, businesses are at risk of closing their doors. I’m not the one saying it. It’s coming from businesses, chambers of commerce and the CFIB.
To conclude, I would like to add that, according to Ms. Ruth Vachon, who testified before the committee, we lost a lot of businesses between 2018 and 2022. That means 61,000 women-owned businesses were lost, with 35,000 of those in Quebec, which represents 60% of businesses.
How do your programs help businesses, as we continue to lose women-owned businesses?