It's a complex research environment, in which many people are pursuing what they think is their opportunity for excellence.
If you haven't spoken with the Council of Canadian Academies, you might want to. They've just completed a study in which they looked at where research excellence is in Canada--not only in science, but also in technology, and therefore getting closer to market.
From that study it's clear that Canada has a very rich and varied research community, and that we're world leaders in a number of areas. A lot of the program activity is supporting people in an enabling way to pursue those opportunities. Consolidating the number of programs isn't necessarily good in its own right. The key question is whether those programs are meeting the needs of the client base effectively. I think that would be the way I'd look at that question.