It's an excellent question, Mr. Green, and I thank you for raising it.
It's one of the biggest challenges that advisers have for investors. Investors may believe they are buying a business or investing in a technology for perfectly benign use. However, that technology, as you know, could have military or other applications. That's where the gap often lies in these situations.
My advice to the government is that trying to resolve that gap early is going to be helpful for both sides. Either the investor knows they're not going to do this because there is a risk that this technology could fall into hands they don't want it in, or there's an opportunity for the government to understand the investor's position and possibly put some parameters around where this technology is going. Are there aspects of the technology that could be licensed or sold that are not problematic? Are there ways that investors could shift investment into Canada so that we become a leader in that technology?
I agree with you, Mr. Green. That is the problem.
Finding ways to bridge the gap between the investment community and the government is the fundamental way we can increase investment in that space and can avoid the embarrassment of having to tell investors, “I'm sorry, but you can't invest in Canada.”