Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much to the committee members for having us here today to talk about the Clean Technology Data Strategy. My name is Vincent Moreau and I've been Écotech Québec's executive vice president for three years now. Écotech Québec is an industrial cluster that supports Quebec's clean tech ecosystem. We're talking about investors, innovators and companies that want to adopt clean technologies. We're also talking about accelerators and incubators. In short, we drive and support this ecosystem to facilitate and accelerate the deployment of solutions that will protect the environment and contribute to the fight against climate change.
The second thing we do is influence public policy along these lines. We believe very strongly in the power and the means offered by clean technologies to initiate the green transition, which businesses need to make. Think of large companies or industries that will ask their small suppliers to adapt to criteria or standards, such as sustainable finance, or even environmental targets. The fact that we are starting a green transition, which is necessary to address climate change in Canada, will have an impact on the entire supply chain.
We have three recommendations to that effect.
First, support small and medium-sized innovative companies to bolster their position and enable them to continue their research and deployment activities. This can be done in a number of ways, including enhanced programs or through eco-fiscal measures or tax credits. I can talk more about this during the question and answer period.
Second, we need to enhance programs currently in place. Make it faster and easier for businesses to access them, and accelerate their deployment activities. We want to get as many projects up and running as possible. So, we need to ensure quick access to existing programs, while enhancing and aligning them.
Third, we must encourage industrial companies that have taken steps, that want to pick up the pace and embark on the transition adventure, which must happen. We must also use other measures to encourage companies that benefit from these programs. Require them to have targets and standards, or to show they are adopting clean technologies that will have an impact on fighting climate change and on protecting the environment. This can be done in many ways. I can give you several examples of recommendations. One is accelerated depreciation. We can also allow companies to protect their intellectual property, offer them tax credits, for example for research and development, enhance programs—