Thank you very much, Chairperson.
Thank you to our presenters for being here today.
Madam Chair, I'd just like to take a moment, as part of my time, to give notice of a motion that I want to put forward. The motion is as follows: That, the Committee immediately undertake a study to review Chapter 5 of 2013 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada: Promoting Diabetes Prevention and Control; that it hold at least two meetings on this study to hear from witnesses, including the Minister of Health; that it report its findings to the House of Commons.
This is a very major issue that's facing us. It was identified by the Auditor General. So I'd like to give notice that we will be moving that motion.
Thank you to the witnesses for giving us your knowledge and, I think more importantly, your experience, because that's what helps us understand what some of the barriers and the challenges are.
We are the health committee, but I feel like we've intersected with the economic world, as we're looking at this issue of innovation and we're looking at, as you say, translating ideas into commercial production and use. I don't feel terribly knowledgeable about it. I kind of struggle sometimes with what the continuum is and how it all works. Based on what you've told us today, though, I have a couple of questions.
Dr. Tyrrell, you mentioned—in fact Dr. Hudson mentioned this as well—the patent costs that can start at $8,000 to $10,000 and then quickly get you up to, as you say in your brief, $80,000. This is too early for the venture capital folks to become involved.
What would be a good federal response to that? Are you suggesting that we need to have some kind of agency that would actually provide grants or assistance loans, or whatever it might be, so that at least that hurdle could be gotten over? If you can't deal with that, you can't go much further, I guess.