Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon to our four witnesses. I'd like to thank them for being here and for their very interesting presentations.
Mr. Chair, I'll begin with a short procedural intervention. We received a document provided by a former colleague, whom I salute. The research presented there seems extremely interesting. I'd like to remind all committee members that the usual way to distribute documents is to send them to the clerk, who makes sure that they're translated. It's customary for all committee members to receive documents in both official languages at the same time.
For example, during the first hour of this meeting, a witness referred to tables that we hadn't been able to consult yet, because they're currently with the interpreters. That's why I'd like to remind you that common practice, to avoid language-based discrimination, is to send the documents to the clerk, who then arranges for them to be distributed. That was just an aside.
I have two questions, and they're for all four of you.
First, when it comes to high-growth and early-stage technology companies, there's a lot of talk about funding. Why is it important for those companies to be able to access venture capital or growth debt financing as opposed to traditional financing?
Who wants to start?