Dear Messrs. Justin Trudeau and Bill Morneau: So, about small businesses. Almost 12 years ago, I started one. It was quite a thing. Before that, I'd been special assistant to Jean Chretien on the Hill. I'd been a partner at a Bay Street law firm. I'd been a vice-president at a Vancouver ad agency. I'd been a reporter at a couple newspapers. All of those places couldn't have been more different. But they all had one thing in common: in every one of those places, I'd been working for someone else. My bosses (that Chretien guy in particular) were mostly terrific. They were good to me.

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But I wanted to go out on my own. I wanted to see if I could take what I'd learned — as a journalist and working for Chretien, in particular — and do something that was different than what everyone else was doing. "A war room for hire" — that's what I wanted to do. So, I did. Developed a business plan, lined up as many clients as I could, hired a few young people, found some space, and got a loan to cover payroll until we got on our feet. Called it the Daisy Group, after the famous ad from the 1964 presidential campaign. (Long story.) And let me tell you: there is nothing quite like laying awake at night, wondering if you have made the biggest mistake of your life, wondering if you have put your four kids in jeopardy by starting up a small business. And then, there's nothing like that first morning, either — for us, May 1, 2006 — when you open the doors for the first time, and a client (in our case, Nike) walks in. I'm not going to lecture you, fellas, about why your changes to the rules governing small businesses are an unmitigated disaster. Anyway, we made it work. We made it into a success. I owe it to some amazing clients, and to some amazing young people who worked for me and with me. I learned from them and I hoped they learned something from me. And we're still here. Still have clients, still have amazing young people working with us. It's corny, but I am pretty proud of that. I'm proud that I made something, and then made it better with the help of others. (My wife Lisa, in particular. But that's a long story, too.) I'm not going to lecture you, fellas, about why your changes to the rules governing small businesses are an unmitigated disaster. You've already gotten an earful from Liberal MPs who told you at the Kelowna retreat — and who told the media, on the record and in no uncertain terms — that you are making a mistake.