Industry committee  I would actually defer to Ms. Peters on that question.

Industry committee  We're very encouraged to see that. It's something we've been calling for, for a long time. We're very happy to see the progress that's been made.

Industry committee  They were good words. They just weren't mine.

Industry committee  At SDTC, I think we've shown over 10 years that supporting technologies that are good for the economy and good for the environment is not a contradiction in terms. They're actually synergistic. If you're developing a technology that saves money, that takes something that's a waste stream and turns it into a valuable commodity and a revenue stream, that creates a very strong business case.

Industry committee  I said we're seeing the government taking an increasing role in this regard.

Industry committee  I think the chronic issue, frankly, is within industry. It's quite a shame, because if you look at clean tech, it's one of the areas where we have large anchor tenant companies in many of these sectors, whether it's in oil and gas, forestry, agriculture, or transportation; we have world-leading companies in each of those sectors headquartered in Canada.

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. I will preface my comments by saying that I'm not an expert in hydrogen, but it is an important part of our portfolio. We have supported several hydrogen technologies. In terms of when Canadians can benefit, I would say very soon. There's a very good proof point in terms of Mercedes locating their first hydrogen engine manufacturing plant in Vancouver, which is a technology that SDTC funded and helped commercialize.

Industry committee  I'm going to say generally no, although that is subject to going back and looking at our hydrogen portfolio in more detail. I believe the majority of our projects in hydrogen are related to applying technologies to specific industries, as opposed to generating hydrogen. One exception may be the case of Hydrogenics, which we've provided some funding to, which was the merger....

Industry committee  I would offer that I think if you attract venture investment, the venture board members, who would typically be a significant part of your board, are very attuned to this issue, because it goes directly to the valuation of the company. For companies that have not gone the venture route—which is fine, and many companies are just able to commercialize and succeed without venture capital—I think there is a gap.

Industry committee  That's a good question. That was the royal “we”—the ecosystem within the Canadian innovation value chain. It ranges from the angel investors to some of the intermediate early-stage, such as SDTC, venture capital, etc. But it's really in those stages. If you look at the average amount of capital that a U.S. company raises, it's about two or three times what the average Canadian company raises at an equivalent stage and sector, so we're fighting with one hand behind our back.

Industry committee  Thanks for the question. I'm glad to come back to this topic. I have just a couple of things to bring forward. The first is that we're great at creating companies in Canada. We're a prolific creator of small companies. In fact, when I was a venture capitalist in the late nineties, some research I did showed that in the greater Toronto area there were more tech start-ups than in Boston and Austin, Texas, combined, and they are two very large tech hubs in the States, outside of California.

Industry committee  I just want to highlight one of the recommendations we mentioned earlier. Filing for patents is expensive. It's a complex, lengthy process. The Alberta Innovates voucher program is very interesting. I don't know if you're familiar with it. Basically what it does is allow pre-approval of spending for service providers to get IP patented.

Industry committee  Similarly, I don't have a view on that.

Industry committee  In our program we fund a project consortium in each case. The government money, which is the money we provide into that project consortium, is on average across our portfolio 33%. It's capped at 33%; in practice, it's actually about 29%. It's about a two and a half to one leverage within the project.

Industry committee  I believe that was Ms. Peters who mentioned that.