Thank you, Chair, and my thanks to everybody for appearing.
I have a clarification to make on Mr. Julian's point. The government has increased funding to SR and ED and to the granting councils. The money has flown to universities. It is true that the government agencies have been taking less, but that money has increased every year. I think that's a point that needs to be considered.
Mr. Jules, it is refreshing to hear what you're saying. I don't think there's a Canadian who would object to giving more money to first nations, if they thought it was going to work. It's interesting that at Foreign Affairs, we're looking at aid effectiveness in Africa in the same way. You're absolutely right that we've been doing this since 1964 and it's not working. So I commend you and I want to have a chat with you later, if we get the opportunity.
Ms. Bittman, I want to direct something to you. I'm listening to what you're saying and I appreciate your concerns. But I have six sons—three of them are policemen and three work in our family dealership. My youngest son is an OPP officer who just became a first class constable.
I realize that you are don't represent this issue, but it more or less states the problems that we're having.
God bless him, I'm happy for him, and I'm proud of all my sons. He's going to make $84,000 as a first class constable. However, my other three sons can only dream about making that kind of salary, never mind benefit from the pension plan and all of the other benefits that come to a public servant. And I don't think there's anybody who faults the son of mine who is a policeman, a job in which he risks his life. Policemen have a tough job and when I talk to my sons, nobody would fault them for making a good salary. But in the private sector, there is an inequity that's beginning to loom large.
I understand that you would come here and make some...well, I don't know if they are recommendations. But we have a problem. We have a problem in this country and I think everybody here appreciates it. We see the fine work that's done by public servants and we see how important it is. However, there has to be wealth generated. That's the long and short of it, and I think that's what Mr. Jules was saying.
I would like to see some concrete recommendations. We have to recognize that we all participate in the marketplace. Whether we work for the government, in a factory, or in a restaurant, we're participating in the marketplace. I think the time has come for all parties to come to the table and admit that we have some serious challenges. We need to address the fact that only so much is being generated. I'd like to see this as part of a dialogue between government and your association. We need to recognize those things and become part of the solution, instead of just criticizing where the government's going, because we are really trying to just....
I know I haven't asked much of a question. Do I have time left, Mr. Chair?