Bonjour.
My name is Edmond Chiasson. I'm vice-president of public affairs for a company based here in Ottawa called Plasco Energy Group.
I am an Acadian, but it would be easier for me to make my comments in English, if possible.
Plasco Energy is actually quite an interesting story of the collaboration between government and the private sector, going back some 30 years when the technology was developed largely with the National Research Council, and as recently as a few years ago when we did a partnership with SDTC Canada, which is still very much in business.
It's quite encouraging to hear positive comments about how government can be a positive force for the business community, and that's certainly been our experience at Plasco. From eight people about five years ago, the company today has 120 people here Ottawa and a commercial-scale demonstration project, and we've raised over $300 million in private capital.
Why have we done that? From the very beginning, we've been of the view that the market has to be the world. In fact, the world is flat, and it doesn't matter where we go in terms of potential customers, because people want to know if we are the best at what we do. Being the best at what you do can be very difficult, so you have to be ambitious and look wherever you can to get some help that can be useful to you.
As we've wandered into the global world, we've always started by saying, “How do we get moving?” I have to say that the trade commissioner service has been a good first port of entry for us, in terms of the various points that we've already heard from the previous witnesses: its understanding of the local market, its strategic advice, and its professional people who are quite keen to be helpful in what we do. It's pretty obvious that if we're successful through their efforts, we're going to be more successful in Canada. So it really is a win-win relationship.
More important than anything else from our vantage point--and I think we should be quite proud of this--is the value of the Canada brand. When you're doing business in another jurisdiction and your own government speaks up on your behalf and validates what you do, indicating that you are legitimate, that you are in Canada and have a certain number of employees, and puts the maple leaf on what you do, that carries a lot of weight in the eyes of other jurisdictions. This is truly a wonderful country to come from.
Like Bruce, I think it's fair to say that things can always get better. We can get better at what we do, and local offices can get better at what they do. In a network as large as the trade commissioner service, some offices are going to be stronger than others.
I got an email at five o'clock this morning from our high commission in London and another email about two hours ago from our counsel in New York City. These two jurisdictions are working with us on possible opportunities for Plasco. It's very encouraging to see a proactive attitude; they're not simply waiting for us to hassle, bug, push, and shove to get their attention. They seem to have a very professional attitude that says, “Let's see how we can work together for you, Plasco, and for Canada”.
Thank you.