Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to start by thanking the committee for agreeing to undertake this study. I think it is very pertinent right now. It is very important to Canada.
Number one, when we talk about IP commercialization, we're talking about the economy, good-paying jobs and wealth. However, there is another side. We're even looking at national security and protecting Canada's knowledge—the currency of innovation, as Mr. Binette noted. In today's Globe and Mail, there was a good comment by Senator Colin Deacon, who noted that, over the past 20 years, the portion of Canadian-invented patents transferred to foreign firms has tripled from 18% to more than 50%.
Today, it is very pertinent to start this study. Hopefully, I speak on behalf of most of the committee when I say we're looking forward to the recommendations, in order to ensure Canada is capitalizing on IP.
This is for both gentlemen. I'm going to start with Mr. McLean and then Mr. Binette. Based on the work of their organizations, what is the single biggest roadblock for SMEs trying to commercialize their IP? In your opinion, how do we fix it?