Thank you.
Again, welcome to the witnesses. Thank you for your presentations and the work you do on behalf of Canadians. It's certainly good to hear that Canada has a great reputation for science and technology.
Dr. Alper, I was very interested in your comments about the importance of innovation adding value to Canada's raw materials, to our commodities, and to really maximize the benefit we get from the many natural resources our country is so fortunate to have.
Something we've heard from other panels, or on which we've had discussion, is getting the balance right between the investment Canada makes in research for commercial purposes—which obviously is very important going forward—and basic research, which can be decades long and perhaps has no obvious end-purpose at the time it's being undertaken. So a question I've been asking witnesses is their view on whether we have that balance right between basic research and commercial research, that is, short or targeted research. If not, what would you advise this committee to place greater emphasis on going forward?