Mr. Speaker, Small Business Week is a time to pay tribute to the hard work and courage of the men and women who start up and run small businesses, and of their employees.
It is because of their efforts that jobs in the small business sector represent 60% of the total number of jobs. In Quebec, there are over 2.5 million jobs in a quarter of a million small businesses, and this does not include self-employed workers.
But we must do more than just pay tribute to small business owners. We must wish them the strength to make it through another year.
The number of businesses declaring bankruptcy is still far too high. We must call on government to provide greater assistance, not just increased funding, but also help with management and innovation, so that small businesses can expand, for their own good and for the good of Quebec and of Canada.