Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the previous speaker's great commendations about the government's role in helping small business. One thing that strikes me as being rather opposite to the whole idea of government trying to help small business is the fact that the national debt accounts for over $38,000 for every taxpayer in this country. Of course small business people are taxpayers. Not only are they taxpayers for themselves but they create employment that generates all other kinds of taxpayers as well.
I think about how small business has to labour under the heavy taxation caused by the national debt. This government has continued to increase the national debt, to increase the amount of burden that is being put on every taxpayer, including small business. How would the member expect these business people to compete in the international marketplace as she is saying they should, could and will when in fact the best thing that could happen to small business would be if the federal government were to reduce or eliminate the deficit and take the cost of this overburdening national debt off the backs of small business?
What better place could the member suggest that we start after listening to the member for Fraser Valley West who said that this government seems to not just pick winners and losers but to pick individual people and say: "Here is some money that is tax free". He quoted all kinds of statistics and actual numbers about individual people or businesses getting specific amounts of money, $300,000 here, $75,000 there and so on.
If the previous speaker is serious about this government helping all small businesses, would she recommend that her party and the government that she supports get out of this selective subsidization and grants to small businesses in various parts of the country in order to reduce the overburden on small businesses and allow them to complete?