Finance committee  On what it means and why it's so vital right now, we're in very unique circumstances with SMEs across Canada right now. Probably the most predominant aspect that has hit small and medium-sized enterprises across Canada has been the ability to access cash from financial institutio

Finance committee  The single measure I would look at, honourable member, is that the restrictions are too tight relative to most construction equipment--excavators, yellow iron. Most of the things that are carried on that have been a substantial stimulus for the government recently have been in th

Finance committee  The program I was referring to, Productivity Alberta, isn't actually a federal program. It's a provincial program. Really it's a non-profit board that basically has a business-led governing board and is supported by Alberta Finance.

Finance committee  It has, but it's broader than that. In other words, lean marketing principles and understanding what truly drives productivity isn't just about IRAP and SR and ED and making an investment. It's about getting down to the shop floor and understanding what they do individually, da

Finance committee  I'll just add that the dollar amount provided through EAP last year to the Province of Alberta was approximately $19 million for IRAP. The previous year it was $9.6 million. Without that additional funding for IRAP this past year, you would not have a significant number of uptake

Finance committee  Absolutely. Yes, that's the key. Within some of the frameworks of small and medium-sized enterprises, the definitions are narrow, so a lot of things don't fit within that definition. For example, of the $2.76 million that we've invested in capital in the last two years, we find t

Finance committee  It is a good program. It's just that the direct funding that was provided through the economic action plan is temporary. We would want to make sure that it becomes permanent, because it has supported a great deal of additional investment recently that has helped stimulate growth—

Finance committee  Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much to all of you for having me speak here this morning. I have French and English in both of my presentations, so please feel free to look at both. As a snapshot of Almita, it is Canada's leader in the design and fabrication of s