Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the debate on this excellent piece of legislation.
We know of course that the Minister of Industry has a keen interest in small business in Canada, as do all hon. members. As late as yesterday the official opposition was talking about small business people in Canada, EI premiums and a number of other issues, extolling the virtues of small business.
Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition in the House also raised the world economic challenges going on now and asked if the government had anything to announce in its business statement in regard to that. I of course thanked him for the question and immediately told him about all the excellent legislation on which we are proposing to move to assist small businesses, and business generally, and to create wealth and jobs in Canada. That is central to the program of the government.
Therefore, given the interest of opposition members, and of all members, in the Canadian economy—if the speeches and interest shown in the House yesterday are any indication—we can only wonder why the official opposition has decided, in its wisdom—