Mr. Speaker, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, so I spent much of the summer checking in on businesses on Hamilton Mountain to see how they are managing the unfair U.S. tariffs that have upended their business models.
One particular highlight was my visit to Niko Apparel Systems with owner Joe Camillo. The factory floor has 66 advanced machines for designing and sewing niche market sports jerseys. One employee, Olga, proudly described how she juggles six different threads at a time while sewing jerseys for local hockey, cycling or lacrosse teams, or referee jerseys for Ron Foxcroft. These are jerseys designed and made on Hamilton Mountain with Canadian materials.
Hamilton businesses are fiercely proud to be Canadian. The U.S. tariffs are a threat, but thanks to the regional tariff response initiative, our government is helping businesses such as Niko expand and adapt despite these trying economic times. Niko has been on the mountain for 30 years. We want to see it continue for decades to come.