The quick answer is no.
Yes, the industry has evolved and changed over the last 20 years, but it's changed and focused on different areas that still require the support of the centre. Again, ACOA has made the point that there has been $60 million through the Atlantic innovation fund over the last seven years. It's a great thing, but as I mentioned, $60 million funds 10 to 15 projects--large-scale initiatives--for 10 to 15 clients. Most of the applied research that's undertaken in the Atlantic fishing industry is on a much smaller-scale basis. So to suggest that the industry has evolved and no longer requires the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation, frankly, is not accurate for that very reason. Many of the 60 to 70 projects or the 200-plus we've conducted over the last five years or the almost 300 over the last seven years would not have been done.
As for the successes there, if you think about return on investment, I can give you an example of one project we've undertaken that would give you the return on our $1.5 million budget instantly. If you look at it from a return-on-investment standpoint, the federal government is getting a fabulous return on investment from the centre's research in terms of the commercialization of our R and D.
I respect the position and the discussion, but the reality is much different. I can take the 60 to 70 letters of support from industry and the outcry from the Nellie Bakers of the world and everyone else as demonstrations of the need for the centre and its relevance today more so than in 1989. I would vehemently argue that the relevance is much greater today than it was in 1989 given the tsunami of issues facing this industry this year, certainly, and we haven't seen some of the things that will be on the horizon over the next 12 months given the global economic circumstances we're facing. The relevance is clear.