Status of Women committee  We have, on average, 4,000 to 5,000 contractors on business going into customer sites every other week. We pay them every month. In house we have about 50 employees between both companies.

Status of Women committee  No. BDC rocks. That was my commitment, and I said it. It's true. We wouldn't have been able to do that transaction without BDC. It was more than $400,000, and they were incredibly supportive of me as a woman who is the majority owner of an enterprise. They led me through the pro

Status of Women committee  May I respond in English?

Status of Women committee  When I had my children it was incredibly difficult, and that's one of the reasons that I started a business. That's one of the reasons that I needed to start a business. If my children were sick, not going to an office wasn't too tolerated in business, and I knew I was being disa

Status of Women committee  I can speak about myself uniquely. I'm a twin, and my twin was very successful at a very early age, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. I think that kind of propelled me to be as successful as I could be fairly quickly. I was always a salesperson, probably fr

Status of Women committee  I have twins. I'm also a single mother of twins. So there you go.

Status of Women committee  I think there is a dynamic with twins, honestly. Baby A and baby B; you probably know it. I'm a baby A, and I have a baby A, and I can see that competitive nature in my twins. I think if you're an entrepreneur you're probably more competitive than most, which means that if you'

Status of Women committee  I say that because I think one of the things that I would really like to see you help major organizations in Canada with is buying Canadian, first and foremost. Eleven per cent board representation in the Canadian market—

Status of Women committee  —for companies owned on the TSX is too low.

Status of Women committee  Good, excellent.

Status of Women committee  Well, I would say I've owned two companies since 2005. I'm a bit of an entrepreneur by nature though. I think we're a little bit of a different breed, right?

Status of Women committee  Well the reason I went to the bank was I was buying out my partner, who was also U.S. based and owned 50% of the business. The company was, at that time, about five years old, I guess. I went to the bank actually in conjunction with RBC. RBC and I went to BDC together with the go

Status of Women committee  BDC ultimately gave a percentage of funds, as did RBC. RBC increased our line to support the transaction and ultimately enabled me to buy him out completely.

Status of Women committee  Distinguished members of Parliament, thank you, and BDC, for allowing me to be here today. It is an honour to have the opportunity to speak to you about my business experience with BDC as a woman entrepreneur. I will begin by telling you about my businesses. I will then explain

Status of Women committee  I'm finished.