Mr. Speaker, just to follow up on the question of my colleague opposite, I actually spent a better part of my career in the field of research administration. I saw first-hand the impact of government funding from the tri-council on research and development in this country.
Over the last few years and certainly in this budget, our government has increased the levels of funding to the point where the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has said that this is a wonderful thing, a great increase and that we are now a leader.
In fact, in a time of global recession, we are funding basic science at record levels. Could my colleague comment on the reality of the funding situation in R and D in Canada?