Health committee  That's an important point. I think it was Dr. Friesen's point as well. You have to have that entrepreneurial spirit well developed by the time you walk into your medical practice. Really, all medical doctors are entrepreneurs to one degree or another. If Dr. Friesen's model comes in, we'll be a lot more entrepreneurial and competitive.

Health committee  Yes, that was where I was going with that. That is how I would view it, that people take the risk and then they get some sort of government protection, if I can put it that way, or some tax advantage for doing it. But they have to significantly risk their money. Unfortunately, there are all these different strategies by which people risk their money but they don't really risk it.

Health committee  A fair answer to your question is that it's not easy, and I didn't know how to do it. I really didn't know. I was lucky to get a good patent agent early on. I think there's an important distinction between the trademarks and the patents: the patents are going to expire, whereas the trademark is forever.

Health committee  I had to find an organic source of the pumpkin seed, and I'm working on that now, but in order to get the best price, the highest margins basically, I should sell an organic product into the natural health market. So I have to find certified organic farmland where people will grow pumpkin seed, and it takes a number of years for that to happen.

Health committee  Not at all. The concern I have is that farming in Canada is very good and very productive but they grow a lot of low-margin crops. They grow a lot of corn. Again, they don't make a lot of money from that. What I would want people to think about is that you can grow a high-value crop and make a higher margin on it, but you've got to protect it with technology and intellectual property.

Health committee  I would just to add that most of my investors are not institutional investors. I have farmers and dentists. I pool the money together from a bunch of people. If there were some way of protecting those people, because they're taking a significant risk when they're investing in a company like ours....

Health committee  Let me tell you. A psychiatrist would.... It's really a bad idea.

Health committee  The chance of that being successful are not high, but fortunately in this case it is. But if there were some way of protecting those investors...because I think that's also something that's not seen, that Canadians can be entrepreneurial, that they want to invest in companies, but they need to have a way to protect themselves a little bit.

Health committee  I would just say do more of the same. I think Canada is actually well situated to deal with this in many ways. I think there's sort of an advertising problem, if I can say that. With the hypnotic medications we use, if you look at the February 2012 British Medical Journal, you'll see there's a sixfold increase in cancer in people who are using hypnotics on a regular basis.

Health committee  Thank you. I'm a psychiatrist. I admit that I'm over-educated, and I thank the Canadian taxpayer for paying for all of that. I have an M.D., am a psychiatrist, and for a period of time worked as an MRC commission scientist. I was working in Stratford many years ago and wanted to find a way of treating people with chronic insomnia, which is a very common complaint.