Thank you, Ms. Verschuren.
Thank you for the opportunity to shed some light today on the facts at hand.
I was hired by the board of directors in June 2015 with a mandate to change. I was asked to modernize SDTC to meet the accelerating pace of innovation in Canada and globally. I was asked to make funding processes and procedures more company and client-sector focused. I was asked to reduce operating expenses to ensure a more nimble, effective and efficient use of public funds.
Therefore, I built a leadership team that started transforming the organization. We zeroed in on small and medium-sized companies. We struck deep relationships with major public and Crown funders across the entire country. We worked with them to reduce barriers for entrepreneurs to access the support they needed to succeed.
We brought in new talent and skills, people with deep experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, finance, and market adoption.
In March 2023, ISED's evaluation branch completed a five-year review of SDTC. That report, which has not yet been released, made these observations: it commended our diversity of funding streams and flexibility; it recognized our trail blazing streams of funding from seed, to start-up to scale-up; and it commended our low overhead—down substantially and far below comparable federal bodies. Let me give you an example. It used to take 12 to 18 months for an entrepreneur to go through our processes, and now, with increased rigour, it takes four to six months.
Our operating expenses went from being 20% over budget to being under budget. We successfully created a performance-driven culture made up of professionals who are great at what they do.
We are now the biggest funder of Canadian clean-tech businesses, bringing made-in-Canada innovation to market, because Canada can and should be a market leader in the green economy, with SDTC-supported companies like Hifi, Eavor and Saltworks leading the way.
I want to thank my leaders and every member of the SDTC team for their steadfast professionalism and dedication.
Our organization has played by the rules, improved the rules, and achieved results for Canadians. My leaders have acted ethically at all times. I stand behind our track record. I'm proud of it. I'm proud of the companies we've helped to succeed.
I very much welcome your questions.