Industry committee  We are so much a creature of the province, and much of the control, I'm afraid, is at that level. I've seen a lot of federal programs where, when a mill town shuts down, the federal government is quite interested in providing some help. I see that happening to a lot of retailers in towns all across Ontario, and probably the rest of Canada.

Industry committee  It is certainly an inequity. I think many of them would like to avail themselves of that type of program. The other thing is the capital gains situation that occurs with the sale of a small business or the property. I'd like to see some effort to consolidate some of these. One block could have ten owners with 15 feet of store.

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. As the only non-national-based organization to speak today, the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas is pleased to bring you our perspective. TABIA represents 25,000 small businesses—main street businesses, mom-and-pop stores—in over 63 neighbourhoods, BIAs, within Toronto.