Industry committee  On the cost itself, in fact, there are major costs to the development of a suitable design for a prosthetic. This is ongoing. This is why it's great that there is an ecosystem worldwide of researchers who keep working on this. I did have to absorb this. I had access through the Internet to a design that had been experimented on with many people before, so for me, the cost was really the cost of buying the material.

Industry committee  On the exact timeline, I was contacted on August 14, 2014, and it took some time to go to the library and so on. Delivery of the end product was on October 21 in Waterdown, Ontario. It took all that time, but in between I travelled and I did a number of things. I contacted many, many people and knocked on many doors to get, in fact, the know-how, and also to be able to produce that prosthetic.

Industry committee  First of all, I had access to the Internet through the e-NABLE network. The first thing is the design. It's open source design, so it's available through Creative Commons. It has been developed in universities by teams of researchers. For me that was the first thing. Then, for buying the filament there are various suppliers, but again the e-NABLE network provided specifications on what kinds of materials could be used.

Industry committee  I think the government could do a lot to develop a culture of innovation here in Canada. In fact, it starts very early. It starts with young children. Young children should have access in their community to tools that enable them to make prototypes, make toys, whatever, and for this we need, of course, at least some minimal infrastructure.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're very honoured to be here as ordinary citizens. I'm Claude Gagné from Ottawa. I'm an entrepreneur in social innovation.

Industry committee  Last November, Mr. Chair, you met Abigail Capannelli, a young lady from your riding who was very pleased to show you her new hand. She had a new prosthetic hand. Abigail sent me this clip to express her appreciation. This is a hand that was done with 3-D printers by volunteers here in Ottawa.