There are ways to maintain independence, I would suggest, that go beyond looking only at funding. There are other measures, such as the governance of an organization, and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport was established as an independent organization. It was a recommendation of the Dubin inquiry. Its board is made up of 12 individuals who are independent from both sport and government, and it's expert-based and non-representative.
We are also subject to audits by a global regulator, the World Anti-Doping Agency, to ensure that the work we are doing is independent from government.
Last, operational independence from an anti-doping perspective is a requirement within the World Anti-Doping Code.
I would offer those as some suggestions on how to maintain independence while at the same time receiving government funds.