The assistance from industrial partners is extremely important. It's a bit weaker in Canada than in the U.S., because of the lack of industrial partners that are headquartered in Canada, which is a requirement for the federal government's matching funding. But the assistance of those industrial partners, whether or not we can get matching funding, is crucial in guiding us to making sure that our products are actually useful to industry. It's not just a matter of money; it's also a matter of guidance towards real needs. Some professors, certainly not the majority, have good contacts in industry and are able to use that to guide their discovery research as well as to further development in making technologies that can be commercialized.
On June 14th, 2016. See this statement in context.