Thank you.
Mr. Preston, the Conference Board publishes annually How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada. In the most recent report, this year, Canada received a D on the innovation report card. ICT investment also merited a D grade, and Canada ranked eighth out of 15 peer countries, including countries like the U.S., Sweden, Denmark. Your study also found that Canada has not increased ICT investment over time.
What do these findings actually mean in the context of improving Canada's productivity and growth? Clearly, D grades certainly sound pretty bad on paper, but how do they actually reflect on SMEs throughout the nation? And what role can the government play in improving this grade?