Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses.
First of all, congratulations on being accepted into the Canadian innovation commercialization program, otherwise known as CICP. It's something that's long overdue for Canadian entrepreneurs. We have the year of entrepreneurs and we also celebrate small business week. We congratulate all small-business owners. As my colleague alluded, they are the economic engine that drives our economy.
I had the opportunity to be in business, and I know what it's like to realize that sometimes there's more month left than money and to try to figure out how to make the payroll. And you celebrate when things go well. It's kind of like taking that dream and making it a reality. I applaud you for your innovation and creativity.
One of the challenges that has been alluded to is that in Canada we haven't been as successful as we should be with taking the concept to commercialization or taking something from patent to product to profit. That's one of the reasons for our own study--to try to find ways we can help small and medium-sized businesses flourish.
So from your experience working with the OSME and the CICP project, first of all, how did you find out about the project and the program? Was the application process cumbersome the first time?