Thank you for the question. I think probably the last thing this committee wants to hear is that we're asking for an increase in expenditures related to an increase in the ticket size. By way of an explanation for some of the committee, the ticket size is the maximum contribution that an individual investor can make to the program in any one given year.
We need to find a basis of comparison, and I'll come to your question directly in a moment, but the fact of the matter is that the federal government tax credit on this program is 15%. When we compare it to other industries and the support that is given to other industries--and I'll pick the oil and gas industry as an example, where the federal government through taxation provides a 44% tax relief on flow-through shares--I think it's important that the industry be supported in equal measure to that industry and that the support be given to it.
What we're trying to accomplish is for the average investors to be able to increase their investment in the program. Right now, they're capped at $5,000 a year, and we think that amount is inefficient. It increases our costs. It doesn't allow a level of participation in keeping with the pace of the RRSP contributions over the years.