Mr. Speaker, as the questioner points out, it is a very important fact that women entrepreneurs do have a very high success rate. Their efforts are contributing significantly to the creation of jobs in Canada. Their success in small business is an important component of the overall development of jobs within the country.
The question also reflects the suggestion in the CFIB study that perhaps women have a more difficult time obtaining financing than do men. I know members of the Reform Party do not agree with that as they have already spoken on it. Those facts are open for review.
However job creation by entrepreneurs of either gender is going to happen best when the banks come to the table and answer the needs of small business. The government is going to be working very hard with the banks and the industry committee to see to it that we establish benchmarks that are usable and useful in measuring the success of the banks in responding to these needs.