You are actually giving me a civil service answer, and I have no problem with that.
What I know is that the government decided to spend $1.6 billion last year, but this year it's only going to spend $1.2 billion, in round numbers. You are telling me that additional expenditures were targeted to respond to the pandemic. However, we are still in the middle of the pandemic and basic research has always been the poor cousin in terms of investments. We have lost a lot of good minds over the years, and we must not repeat the errors of the past.
I was not trying to find out how the budget is broken down, but why there is no recommendation or inclination in favour of basic research. Why not have maintained that budget at its previous level, especially since we are still in the middle of the pandemic?
I suspect you will give me a civil service answer and I have no need for it.