Mr. Jonathan McDade:

We had a question on public contracts and 77% of small businesses stated they have not secured public procurement contracts. In fairness to the Office of Government Procurement, it has an SME committee, on which I sit, that has engaged in consultation. It is making efforts to simplify the process but we are still getting queries from members on some of the stipulations or conditions for applying for a public procurement contracts. Some have related to insurance but one of the key areas is that one has to have an example of experience. Of course, many first-time applicants do not have experience, so they automatically do not qualify. This is very frustrating for small businesses seeking to apply for public procurement contracts. Progress is being made and we will see what further actions come from the Office of Government Procurement on this matter.