Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments by the secretary of state for finance indicating what I assume he agrees is a problem probably in all financial institutions, particularly the banks on which the small business sector depends so much in terms of access to capital.
There are two things that can be done. One is for the banks to show some sensitivity in this area. I know they are promising the creation of a small business bank and so on if the mergers are approved. This is a pretty desperate sop at this eleventh hour but we appreciate at least that they are saying the right things.
If they were serious about supporting that small business sector, which they say they are, they would be putting more resources into creating a more stable environment in terms of working with that sector, in terms of paying people adequately so that they stay in a community, that they develop the necessary expertise and understanding, that they are able to visit some of the more creative business opportunities as opposed to simply sitting in their offices and waiting for people to bring in their business plans.
I also want to acknowledge what I think is a changed mandate for the business bank of Canada. In the past this bank used to do much more in terms of advising people in terms of business opportunity, advising individuals on how to proceed in business as opposed to simply providing the traditional banking function. That is still done to a certain extent in the various branches but I think this is one area where the government can move.
Second is the area of community economic development organizations. There are all sorts of models across the country and spinoffs of what I would describe as a small business incubator centre, a place where individuals can go who are perhaps new to the business world.
Let us face it, during this period of downsizing and during these periods of massive layoffs a lot of people are entering the world of business who never had any intention of doing so. They had been a whatever in a large corporation or they had been a government employee and can no longer find employment in those sectors. They cannot find a job in the traditional economy and so they are, if you like, almost forced into being a business person. They are forced into opening up a home based business or a small business, a self-employed initiative whether it is a consultant or whatever.
Often there is a role where government can assist those people who are newly emerging entrepreneurs, who perhaps lack some of the crucial skills, certainly lack some of the critical background in terms of technology development and so on and can be assisted in a variety of ways.
I want to mention one thing about the EI surplus as mentioned by the previous speaker. If there is one thing the EI surplus could be put toward that I think most people would support it would be retraining people who presently have lost their job, retraining into areas that would enable them to open up an enterprise or enable them to be more marketable in the job market. I would like to see some of these EI funds, after the benefits have been increased, put into more training and skilling of people who need to be upgraded, as we all do, in order to play a rightful role in the knowledge based economy of the 21st century.