First of all, it's important to work with multinationals. Obviously, we need multinationals in Canada. They are part of the innovation ecosystem. There's nothing wrong with having a place for multinationals. However, we need to make sure, especially for our SMEs—we're a nation of SMEs—that there is a mechanism to get intellectual property out of public research and into SMEs if there is an opportunity to do that.
Of course, start-ups have their place as well. There is a much higher risk when you talk about start-ups, because there are so many other factors that could influence their survival. Is there a reflex to look within the Canadian geographical market? Are there existing SMEs that could put to use the fruits of an invention from research? Have we structured the intellectual property well, and do we have a mechanism to get it to SMEs?
There should be a prioritization to look at this. When there are public dollars, do we first consider an SME, which is the fabric of the nation? There may be an opportunity for a start-up if we feel like there is a place for that start-up in the Canadian ecosystem and Canadian market. If not, there's nothing wrong with considering working with a multinational.