My question is for the Associate Minister of Small Business. Small businesses across Chatham-Kent–Leamington and throughout our rural and northern communities continue to share their concerns about the punitive impact of the federal carbon tax. Small family-run furniture stores like Gabriele, Main-West and Devos are suffering, as are the sawmills and contractors, who are seeing higher costs for raw materials like lumber. Speaker, this unfair tax forces them to choose between absorbing the cost themselves or passing them on to customers like you and I.

Unlike the opposition, our government clearly recognizes that rural and resource-based businesses must remain viable for communities to thrive. Can the minister please explain how the carbon tax is impacting rural businesses and our entrepreneurs?