In today's marketplace and with the financial conditions the forest industry has been facing, R and D probably runs at around 1% to 1.5%. We are highly dependent on research and development from federal funding and provincial funding through FPInnovations, UBC, Laval, and places like that. So those programs are very important.
I heard the motion that was passed in the House about loan guarantees, building with wood, bio-energy, and R and D tax credits. The R and D tax credits are very important for driving innovation and the switch to these new products that are available or the opportunities that appear to be available.
In our industry, there is a big time lag between the R and D that comes out of the lab to pre-commercial and getting it ready for commercial application. The government is crucial in providing funding for that phase. The issue we have at the commercial level is whether we can build a business case and get credit to take these new products to market. And that's where your first question comes in about access to credit.
We need you to continue to fund R and D. We need the R and D tax credits. That will help to build the road forward for us.