On the commercialization side, I'll give you an example of where I think commercialization has happened but may not have been recognized.
We have a bioethanol processing plant in the province. It became very well recognized for the quality of dried distillers grains it was producing as a result of collaboration with animal nutritionists at the University of Manitoba showing them how processing practices in the plant could influence the quality of the dried distillers grains and the variation from run to run of dried distillers grains. That plant, recognizing how they could solve the problem, did and had some of the premier quality dried distillers grains available for the feed industry.
Do we consider that a successful commercialization? In the traditional terms we do not, because there's no single product that is now commercialized and for sale; yet this processing plant and the producers buying the product have both gained. That's one point I wanted to make.
With respect to investments, Manitoba is perhaps a model for what we have observed in Canada. We do not have very many headquarters of businesses in Manitoba, and headquarters tend to make the decisions around investment. We have a little bit of the same scenario in Canada, and that worries me, because successful enterprises tend to be bought by multinationals, and the decisions around reinvestment and investment in research do not tend to favour the Canadian portion of the enterprise.
So I think you make a very good point. How to reverse that situation, I'm not sure. I feel confident that the tax credit system is a part of the equation, but small enterprises—at least in my experience in dealing with those smaller companies and Revenue Canada—have a difficulty becoming aware of where these programs are and how to take advantage of them, and then with the administration associated with them.
I think you make a very good point. There probably are some solutions there.