Perhaps I'll take the lead.
Up until July of this year, we were restricted as government from exploring the use of set-asides for small and medium-sized enterprises to further Canadian programs, because the agreement on internal trade simply did not allow for set-asides for small and medium enterprises. Now that we have in place the CFTA—the Canadian Free Trade Agreement—you have government looking at the options to utilize a small business set-aside, including BCIP and Innovative Solutions Canada under ISED. We're looking at what options exist that allow us to more fully explore the use of that set-aside to promote Canadian business, not only for R and D—research and development—but also for the follow-on sales you are alluding to.
In terms of what the U.S. does versus what we do, the U.S. does not have that type of internal restriction, so they employ small and medium-sized enterprise set-asides in two general ways. One is under their simplified acquisition thresholds. Federal department procurements that are under $150,000 are set aside to small businesses at large. Another mechanism they employ is the SBIR program, their small business innovation program. Under that program, they have identified that innovation for purposes of small business set-asides is not only the research and development but also the follow-on sales—the first sales, if you will, or the commercial sales, that are then given to U.S. government departments and agencies.
You referred to quotas. I understand that there are quotas in existence that also vary by department and agency. I understand that those quotas are not always attained, however, but the small business set-aside is being used by the U.S. quite frequently.