Once again, we believe that it is a matter of cooperation. Both sources of capital must be maintained.
Why not keep two sources of capital available?
One source of capital is working well. We have invested over $2 billion in venture capital. Can you name anyone else in Canada who has done that? We have invested $2 billion over the last 10 years. In venture capital alone, the last 3 years have given our shareholders a 9.7% return on their investment, whereas Thomson Reuters says the average return was 2%.
We are doing better than the other venture capital funds in Canada, and yet this source of capital may be withdrawn. In regard to funds that will be available, we still don't know if that matter has been settled or not. We are told that it has been. We have shown that we are able to provide capital to the venture capital industry all over Canada, and now this may be replaced by a program that has not been set up yet. No one knows exactly how the program will work nor if it will produce the expected results. Why not maintain these two sources of capital, at least for the next 7 to 10 years, after which we can decide if adjustments are necessary?