Mr. Speaker, the National Research Council's successful industrial research assistance program is one of the most important mechanisms for supporting innovation and helping small business create and adopt new technologies.
Every year IRAP provides technical advice to more than 10,000 companies and provides financial assistance in support of research and development to more than 3,000 companies.
The industrial research assistance program supports a national technology network that involves 150 public and private sector organizations.
It is for this reason that this government will increase this successful program by an additional $34 million to $130 million this year, an increase of 35% from 1997.
IRAP will provide greater support to small businesses in adopting new technologies and developing new products for commercial markets.
This new investment, along with other initiatives such as technology partnerships Canada and the Canadian foundation for innovation, complements this government's continuing commitment.