The principal effect of the cuts, as I read them, is first of all that governments will be making more decisions blindly, because they will not have the base.... There's a lot of talk about evidence-based decision-making, and the less evidence you have and the less research you have, the more you are making decisions by the seat of your pants. I can't think that this would be good for social cohesion. I cannot think that for governments to function on the basis of ideology or preconceptions, rather than on good evidence, is a good way to foster social cohesion in Canada. And I would hope that ways could be found by which these organizations could continue to function as they have in the past, because they have made very important contributions.
On October 17th, 2006. See this statement in context.