Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues and I said this morning, we oppose the bill. We gave excellent reasons as to why the official opposition does not agree with the bill.
We recognize that since we do not have a majority the chances are that the bill will go through. Therefore, my colleagues have come up with amendments which will bring more accountability to this issue and two motions were put forward.
One is to make sure that only one family member receives the loan. As well the limit is being reduced from $250,000 to $100,000. The average loan has been $65,000. Reducing the limit to $100,000 in no way will have a major impact but it will bring more accountability and ensure that the loan is given to small businesses.
This morning I read a news item which said that the banks are going to set up a small business bank. This came out of their desire to merge. They have said to the small business people that they will set up a small business bank to address this issue.
I am glad to see that the banks feel they have to do that. They have come up with an innovative idea. I think it is a good idea. They are addressing that issue, but that is the whole point of what we have been trying to say. The banks have to come up with innovative ideas to address the issue of small business financing. It is not a bill like this one under which the banks can hide and not take any risk and say they are helping small businesses.
The debate this morning by the official opposition has been that the private sector and in this particular instance the banks have to take more responsibility. They have to come up with innovative ideas on how to finance small businesses. They need to change their thinking. The banks have to change from thinking about how much money they can make. The banks must think of how they can be partners with small businesses to improve the Canadian economy. That is the thinking that requires change.
I was talking with the vice-president of the CIBC. He said they understand and realize there needs to be a change in thinking and that they would be working on it. I would just tell them that they had better hurry up so that they do not miss the boat. The official opposition is asking for the banking sector to open up to more competition.
There are ways the banks can work with small business. As I said, I have had experience with small businesses. That is why I am saying that the way the banks can help small business is to set up advisory councils of business people who can advise the banks so they can broaden their criteria on how they give out loans. And here we have another intervention by the state in the banks through this bill by saying the state is coming in and it will guarantee the loan. The banks will shirk their responsibility.
As I mentioned this morning, this kind of financing has been available for the last 25 years but still there are complaints out there that small businesses are having a hard time accessing funds. This bill is not going to solve the problem of financing for small businesses.
Some good news I mentioned earlier is that the banks want to set up another institution that will primarily address the needs of the small businesses. Great. It is a good idea. They should have done it a long time ago.
In the overall picture the responsibility for the burden on small business is the economic climate created by the government. We have made it clear and we are saying it again. The high level of taxation, which takes into account payroll taxes, the bureaucratic reporting and the huge amount of paperwork businesses have to do which is an indirect cost on small businesses is what leads them to ruin and stops an entrepreneur from putting time into the business to make it successful.
Business people are asking to be left alone so they can carry on doing their business. That is what they want to do. Is the economic climate there for them to do it? No. They are mired by government bureaucracy. They are mired by reporting structures. They are mired by this report and that report.
When I started a small business 16 years ago it was great fun. One would work hard, pay one's little taxes, pay one's employees and get going. It used to be fun. Today it is not fun. It is becoming a burden. Today you have to think “Oh man, I have to send in this report. I have to do this and I have to do that”. What a change over 16 years in doing business in this country. The blame lies partly with that side. And I am talking from experience.
I am telling the government to create the environment and reduce the taxes. The GST which the Liberals said they were going to remove is another big headache. The reporting structure of it is a problem. We need to create the economic climate to let Canadians do their job and let Canadian businesses try.
The motion we are supporting is an attempt to bring forward accountability. We hope the banks will not shrink from the responsibility of addressing the issues. We hope the government will recognize that it has to create a climate in which small business can thrive.