International Trade committee  I'll tell you, it wouldn't be a problem if you could eliminate the politics from it, because generally the staff are excellent. I find that I work with the staff, not with the politicians, and they're looking long-term at their jobs and want to make good decisions. If you want

International Trade committee  Can I respond to that tax credit question?

International Trade committee  Tax credits are a value when you're profitable and your business is up and running, but many SMEs are operating on the line as they grow their businesses, especially start-ups. It would be a long time before they start to see the benefit of tax credits, so you're far better off..

International Trade committee  I have a lot to tell you about that. It's the business where I obtained equity to help finance the growth of the business and new product development, and it's an absolute nightmare. I'd never do it again. I'd shoot myself before doing it. I can tell you—

International Trade committee  I can tell you that we're very fortunate to have several universities in Halifax, and we have people attending university from all over the world. We've been careful to select employees from Africa who speak Swahili, from Brazil for Portuguese, Colombia for Spanish, and so on. We

International Trade committee  I think what we have to keep in mind is that for companies to be strong in export markets, most of the time they have to be strong at home. I think some of the programs that the federal government has are fantastic, like the BCIP, which helps launch new technologies. The next pha

International Trade committee  Yes. I think if your regional development groups like ACOA could offer loan guarantees, it would be a tremendous help to SMEs.

International Trade committee  I know some of our staff at LED have experienced this problem. They've been couriering their passport, having to go on another trip, and waiting for it to come back. I could see that could be a help.

International Trade committee  It's Chuck Cartmill here, I've had experience with most of them. May I comment?

International Trade committee  I think the trade commissioner services are doing a wonderful job. Maybe I should just step back. You all have the document that I sent in, I take it. I'm just going to confirm some of the things, because this was one of the areas that I covered. I do serve on Minister Fast's S

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. I'm Chuck Cartmill, the CEO of Solar Global Solutions, which is a company that focuses on micro grid solutions, solar systems, storage, and combined heat and power units. The main markets are the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the U.S., with some business i