My name is Shawn McGuirk. I represent the non-profit science policy exchange and I'm a Ph.D. student in cancer research at McGill University. I'm also representing over 1,000 students who have signed a petition to support the findings of the fundamental science review, which has shown that Canada is the only country in the G7 that has seen a decrease in the funding for fundamental research over the last 10 years.
We support the findings of the review. We support their recommendation to increase funding by $1.3 billion over the next four years, which will return funding to 2007 levels. This is important not just for covering research and maintaining our competitiveness on an international scale, but it will permit the training of hundreds of thousands of skilled workers across Canada in every field. We have also been endorsed by organizations representing over 300,000 graduate students across Canada.
Thank you for your time.