Mr. Speaker, over the past two months I have met with business leaders, representatives of chambers of commerce, boards of trade representatives and municipal officers in the six regions of New Brunswick. These meetings were co-ordinated through the efforts of New Brunswick's industrial commissions and provided an opportunity for round table discussions focusing on jobs and small business.
Through these presentations we were able to discuss what has been accomplished to date and exactly what must be done in the future in order to attain our goal of continued growth in small business and jobs.
While we have met or exceeded our deficit reduction goals and achieved over 600,000 new jobs in Canada, there is still much to
be done. These regional meetings were helpful in developing new initiatives so that new opportunities may be created.
I would like to thank the industrial commission managers and all participants who made the round table meetings in New Brunswick such a great success.