You're quite right. I am an optimist. I have a positive mental attitude. I'm buoyed by the fact that there's so much demand for the services the technology access centres offer. Each of the centres has an average wait-list of 11 weeks for companies that want to innovate, do cool stuff in Canada, commercialize and create wealth for this country. They just need an intermediary to help them out. That role—that pilot scale that we play in—is complementary to the great work going on in universities and government labs. We're the de-risking validator for the private sector, which can produce a million units of an innovative new technology or even adopt it themselves to save some money on the shop floor for their bottom line.
One of the coolest aspects, for sure, is this: Every project we do is partnered with industry or a community. We have professional R and D staff who do their thing. What I love is that it's a multidisciplinary team attacking the problem from every angle. College students and university students benefit, as well, as members of those teams. They're gaining innovation literacy and skills acquired during their studies, then have a competitive advantage in the labour market when they graduate and go out—whether it's working with the company they partnered with on the project or being able to speak to some really tangible, hands-on experience they have in a job interview. I think that's a really cool thing that we should be proud of. It's complementary to the other sides of the spectrum. We just need a bit more of it.