Thank you very much for the question, Mr. Garon.
I do agree that tri-council funding should be increased, and that shouldn't necessarily be at the expense of other programs like the CRC or the CFI. They are all really important for maintaining and innovating for research in terms of equity, the diversity of research, as well as the diversity of individuals who can....
I think one of the most difficult factors right now, especially for tri-council funding, is what we are going to with the next generation of scientists. I've been around for quite a while, and I'm happy and delighted when I see early career researchers getting their funding. For example, my post-doc just got funding from an agency a couple months ago. These are celebratory events, and they're not happening enough these days.
Let me give you one stat. Because of funding levelling off for research, we really haven't had an increase for early career researchers since 2003. That's going to affect the future of research, which is going to affect the ability to attract talent. Funding like that from the tri-council is essential for making sure that the landscape has that parity and that innovation for the future.
Thank you very much for the question.