Mr. Chair, and members of the committee, thank you very much for having us here today.
My name is Anthony Carty, and I'm the chief financial officer and vice-president for corporate services at CCC. I'm very pleased to give you a little bit of background about CCC and also our support for SMEs.
CCC is the Government of Canada's international contracting agency. The corporation was established by an act of Parliament in 1946 with a mandate to assist in the development of trade between Canada and other nations.
CCC's business model is unique in the world. The corporation's primary service involves the establishment of government-to-government contracts with foreign government buyers to provide goods and services available for export from Canada by Canadian exporters. In turn, CCC enters into contracts with Canadian exporters to fulfill the requirements of these government-to-government contracts. Using this approach, CCC guarantees the performance of the terms and conditions of contracts with foreign government buyers, thereby mitigating their risks and providing added incentive to procure from Canada.
CCC's business model also mitigates risks for the Canadian exporter as the corporation is able to leverage its capacity as a Government of Canada organization to monitor progress and bring resolution regarding any issues that may arise in fulfilling the contract requirements. CCC's involvement can reduce payment collection risks and business development costs, not insignificant when a business is dealing with buyers overseas. It can aid all Canadian exporters, particularly SMEs, to gain more advantageous contract and payment terms, and it helps increase international awareness by supporting and promoting ethical business practices and corporate social responsibility as Canadian firms seek to increase their international sales.
CCC is a 140-person organization located here in Ottawa. The corporation processes approximately two billion dollars' worth of exports annually, a figure that is expected to double over the next five years as a result of a growing pipeline of opportunities and prudent investments in business development. CCC currently represents the maintenance of about 22,000 Canadian jobs per year.
CCC charges fees for its services, revenues from which have grown over the past number of years from $13.5 million in our most recent fiscal year 2013-14 to a forecasted $25 million for the current fiscal year of 2014-15. As returns on planned investments in business development materialize, fees for services are expected to grow to $35 million by 2017-18.
Since 1956, CCC has also been the Government of Canada's custodian for the Canada-United States Defence Production Sharing Agreement or the DPSA. This is a bilateral agreement that covers purchases by the U.S. DOD of defence and security goods and services provided by Canadian exporters. The DPSA supports over half a billion dollars of defence and security trade between Canada and the U.S. each year. CCC's DPSA business has often been the platform that Canadian companies, particularly SMEs, have used to build their capacity to compete and to generate other global sales outside of the U.S.
CCC works with SMEs in three particular ways. In the first instance, we support SMEs in direct government-to-government contracting opportunities. In our last fiscal year, 2013-14, CCC had contracts or pursuits with over 115 Canadian SMEs, largely through its role as Canada's custodian of the DPSA. CCC's planned establishment of a foreign representation network over the next three years will also help SMEs that cannot typically afford to travel internationally as often as may be required to develop trusted relationships with foreign government buyers.
Second, we work closely with Canada's primary defence and security exporters and encourage them to maximize Canadian content in their supply chains. While figures for these indirect SME impacts are not reflected in CCC's performance measures, their connection to CCC is well understood across the defence and security industry.
Finally, CCC has also begun enhancing its engagement with SMEs on a broader scale through increased participation and profile at domestic and international trade show events. It has strengthened domestic outreach in collaboration with industry sector organizations such as CADSI, AIAC, CME, and other Government of Canada stakeholders in trade, including Western Economic Diversification Canada, through an MOU.
CCC continues to play a key role in the delivery of the government's GMAP, as well as in the export component of Canada's defence procurement strategy, and it is building on its tremendous momentum to strategically assist Canadian exporters large and small—SMEs in particular—in dozens of markets abroad.
Thank you for your time this afternoon. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.