Mr. Chair, I would like to start by pointing out that small business owners, in fact business owners across this country, are citizens first. They are Canadians.
What we did in our budget was to help Canadians. We know that helping Canadians through reduced tax rates, by putting them in a better situation through changing benefits for their children, can make a real and measurable difference in their lives.
I want to come back to a question that was asked of me a little earlier, which was on what happens to a family with an income of $60,000. A family with an income of $60,000 with two kids, one under six, would have an increase in our plan for the Canada child benefit of $3,300, plus a tax reduction of $225, for a $3,525 improvement. That is real change.
That is the sort of change that will allow those families to be excellent customers for small businesses, buying products and services, and raising the revenues of those businesses, which is, after all, first and foremost what businesses want. They want improved situations and an improved economy, so they can make their business better in the long run.