Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate at this time to recognize the member for Provencher for all the work he has done in our industry committee during the last two years.
When we started the debate on how we could improve access to capital a lot of people thought we would have one or two meetings, bring the banks in and they would probably give us a good public relations speech which would take our eyes off the ball and we would then lose focus on the issue.
I want to say to the member that his courage, commitment and support in keeping a rigid focus on making sure that the whole bank attitude toward small business really changed. It was not just a PR show and then put it on the back burner. It is something we have stuck with over the last two years. The member for Provencher has made a fabulous contribution to the industry committee. I know all members from the Reform Party and from the Bloc Quebecois would certainly support the view I express here today.
My question for the member has to do with the great story about the past operation in his riding, the value added. That was an exciting story for me to hear. I felt like I wanted to rush out to Manitoba. It sounds like there is more action there than in a lot of the regions in the country. I salute the member for that.
I want him to tell me why those entrepreneurs got so excited and moved from exporters of raw products into taking the risks of turning themselves into manufacturers, taking a raw product and going to the finished packaged good? How was that done?