The Government of Canada and taxpayers spend about $7 billion a year to support R and D. About half of that comes through a tax expenditure that is out of the Department of Finance--the SR and ED tax credit--while the other $3 billion is in a series of programs, including the strategic aerospace and defence initiative, for example, and some of the initiatives in your granting councils.
There's an overall objective the government is seeking. If we have this very rich tax credit and we have all these programs to support private sector R and D, how come we are in the bottom quartile in regard to private sector investment in R and D? The government appears to be doing its part by putting on the table the partnership opportunities. Why is the other side not coming to the table? What is it about our $7 billion that we could do differently, that we could do better, and that would lead to more private sector R and D?
How can we, the government, do better within that same fiscal envelope so that it will yield more investment? We need that innovation investment if we are to sustain competitiveness.