Official Languages committee  Depending on where these come from, this may reflect in part the B-based funding we've received from previous programs that is coming to an end at the end of this fiscal year. If that is not renewed, that presents a challenge, not just for ICT but from the NRC perspective. Our objective is to look carefully at all the investments we make across all industry sectors and to ensure we're investing the resources we have in such a way that it creates the greatest benefits for Canada.

Official Languages committee  Even as we speak we continue to negotiate to license the PORTAGE software to other Canadian firms. I think it's critical for us to continue to invest and grow this sector in Canada. It forms the base for a multitude of other economic growth possibilities for Canada that we very much want to pursue.

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. The road map gave us the tools and resources to grow this world-class team. It's something we should treasure, encourage, and keep moving along.

Official Languages committee  The main estimates—

Official Languages committee  In general, when we develop technologies our intent is to make it available to any Canadian firm that can make use of it. We retain ownership of the technology and we license it on a case-by-case basis to other firms. In other instances—and this is more of a general comment on intellectual property—where we've shared the risk and the cost of doing the R and D, we would actually be more open to other ways to deal with the IP.

Official Languages committee  I've lost track of the first part of your question.

Official Languages committee  Right. I'm not privy to exactly what the impact would be on NRC. We're certainly waiting for the government to come forward with a budget, and all that will be clear at that time. I really can't comment—

Official Languages committee  Thank you for that question. Of course, NRC is very focused on making sure we make investments in areas that have potential for economic growth for our companies. If we look today at the market, it is a growing market. One of the sectors of this market that's growing very rapidly, for example, is in security and security-related technologies.

Official Languages committee  I'll defer to my colleague, Charles-Antoine, for a technical explanation.

Official Languages committee  If you want to explore a little more around where even the translation technologies have potential for growth, you can think about business intelligence tools, where companies like OpenText are providing tremendous breadth to companies to explore and analyze information. The integration of a wide range of translation tools allows Canadian firms like this to have opportunities to continue to grow and dominate the global markets.

Official Languages committee  It's something that I will certainly look into now that you've raised it. It is NRC's commitment to provide access in the language of choice to all of our services. It's something that I will be raising after this meeting. Thank you very much.

Official Languages committee  That's a good question. Thank you. English is the main international language of science. We have a lot of associates, particularly in astronomy, and we provide a database. to provide access to astronomical information. That's actually how we proceeded in these areas. The question is, should we or can we provide fully bilingual services?

Official Languages committee  Could I see the paragraph you read?

Official Languages committee  That's a good question. But I actually don't have the answer right now. That's something that I will look into and report back on, if you wish.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. That's a very general question. If you don't mind, I'll just switch to English so I can make sure that I capture all the nuances of what I'd like to share. In general, NRC has a role to support—