Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.
Last Friday, in a joint statement, the President of the Treasury Board and his colleague the secretary of state announced a federal compensation program for small businesses affected by the ice storm, a program established unilaterally, without any harmonization with Quebec.
Will the minister admit that all he is trying to do on this issue is to enhance the government's visibility at the expense of the effectiveness of small business assistance programs?