Absolutely. It's a great question.
I wouldn't be a good senior non-commissioned officer and officer of the Canadian Armed Forces if I didn't show up with solutions to a complex problem.
I've seen and learned that, in the United States, they have an office in their veterans affairs department that handles new businesses, and they can get a designator, a number, that allows them to access different types of funding. That alone would get the ball rolling, in my opinion, here in Canada. You would then have the potential to apply for preferential rates at the bank, maybe BDC. Additionally, you would be able to bid on contracts. A certain number of contracts have to be veteran-owned companies. That is policy in the United States. I think that alone would create a massive windfall for a lot of Canadian veteran-owned businesses because we don't have an entry point. We don't have a front door.
Their network of veteran businesses is vastly superior to ours. They recognize it in policy, and because of that, they are obviously the kings of entrepreneurship in that regard. Many veterans are more adept at creating businesses because—and from personal experience, it makes sense—our risk tolerance is much higher than that of the average civilian. What I did in the military compared to what I do now is kind of laughable. I sit behind a mic and do podcasts, and I coach people online. For me, the risk is financial. This is a cakewalk compared to what I did in the Canadian Armed Forces.
We would be wise to start looking at how they set up their structure, policy-wise, and to see if we can emulate it as closely as possible. The Americans are great when it comes to collaborating and working with us to help get us off the ground. That's why I do a lot of my work in the United States.