Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the question.
The growth of entrepreneurship in the Canadian economy has been remarkable over the last decade. The number of self-employed women has also grown at over three times the rate of business formation by self-employed men. Today there are more than 600,000 self-employed women, representing over one third of all self-employed in Canada.
Women entrepreneurs tend to be more reliable credit risks since they are less prone to go out of business than men. They should therefore be considered more dependable from the perspective of banks.
Despite this, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business study, to which the hon. member referred, indicated that women continue to face greater obstacles to financing than men.
A recent study by Statistics Canada suggests that while there is no systemic discrimination against women entrepreneurs, they tend to operate businesses in higher risk sectors. In those sectors both male and female entrepreneurs face substantially similar obstacles to financing.
Let me give some concrete examples of what the government has done. The Federal Business Development Bank is committed to helping women. About one third of FBDB loans are made to businesses with 50 per cent or more female ownership. FBDB designs seminars and conferences especially for women; 500 women attended these last year.
The government has been improving access to financing for small business. Lending under the Small Business Loans Act has increased by more than four times in the last two years. We are pressing the banks to increase lending to small businesses. They have taken some steps to improve their services to small business. We will continue our efforts to ensure all entrepreneurs have easier access to financing so they can start, grow and prosper.