Yes, the guarantee is on the funding the government gives to universities for research. Before, the system was that only the provincial government paid indirect costs. It paid a certain amount on all grants, either federal or provincial. It eventually decided to fund only its own indirect costs—50% for social sciences and 65% for hard science. It withdrew from the federal government's indirect costs and decided to let the federal government fund its own costs.
On October 25th, 2006. See this statement in context.