Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you all for joining us this morning.
I'd like to focus on two themes that I think are critical for the jobs of tomorrow, which some of you have advanced, where I think you'll find a big difference between our view and the government's view. One of these areas is the role of research and innovation in science in creating the jobs of tomorrow. The second one is the importance of the Pacific gateway and trade with China; we can't put all of our eggs in one basket, and we really think Canada's destiny lies increasingly with Asia. Some of you have touched on that.
If I may begin with the first theme, this is principally for Mr. Lockyer and Mr. Nilson, I think. We believe that to create the jobs of tomorrow, government has to be heavily involved in science, in research, in innovation, because many of the jobs lost today will not come back. It's true that with new ideas and innovation in science and research, Canada must work to create these future jobs. On the government side, they've actually cut funding for science and research-granting councils, so there you see a pretty stark contrast.
To Mr. Lockyer, you're seeking quite a lot of money, approximately $300 million. So I have two questions. Have you, other than coming here today, had conversations with the industry department, and what are the prospects for that? Second, in terms of the isotope crisis, you described a short-, a medium-, and a long-term plan. Have you been in discussion with government on that? What kind of reaction have you had to that plan?