Thank you for your question, Mr. Ste-Marie.
My main reason for being here today is to make parliamentarians aware that start-ups face a different reality, one that government programs need to take into account. For example, initially, the Canada emergency wage subsidy did not factor in the reality of start-ups. We spoke up quickly, and that changed.
What I'd like to see the government do is adopt a mindset, and consider how each program it introduces to support business is really going to help start-ups and how the program can be improved to do just that.
One of the missing government measures is support for a scale-up platform. That's what we need to move into the second phase, to grow and to benefit economically. It's simple: start-ups need funding, talent and customers. A range of services are available to help start-ups in the development phase, which can last two or three years. After that, though, they are on their own. That is when they need new skills, new funding and new markets in order to succeed.
That is why building a scale-up platform for Quebec is so essential. Without it, Quebec's ecosystem will remain one of small start-ups, and that's not what we want. We have much bigger plans for the future of our start-ups.
I mentioned customers, and the government has the ability to be a tremendous customer for start-ups. For that to happen, however, the government needs to make changes to its tendering process. It needs to listen to start-ups, taking the time to help them improve their technologies and adapt them to government requirements. Imagine what a boon it would be for a start-up to have the government as a customer. Landing a contract with the Government of Canada would give the start-up a reputation that would help it acquire more customers.
Those are two areas where improvement is needed.