Thank you.
The answer to that question is yes. There is, in fact, a structure in place. There are a number of avenues open to small and medium enterprises. Of course, we always want to do more. We talked about the role and mandate of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises, where staff are dedicated exclusively to assisting SMEs. That assistance and these points of contact are not only part of the procurement process. On the contrary, it is available right from the outset either in person, through the websites or at information sessions. The amount of contact with SMEs has grown considerably. In the last year, there were more than 18,000 separate interactions with SMEs, either individuals or several people together.
I also want to stress that, within our processes, we are making increasing use of letters of interest. We publish our statements of work in advance; we let SMEs know about our future requirements. This gives not only small and medium enterprises, but all businesses or individual suppliers an opportunity to ask questions. Because there are points of contact; they have direct access. They can get in touch with us verbally or in writing. Our goal is to be accessible to all businesses; however, at the same time, some of our initiatives are specifically aimed at SMEs.