As I said, no decision has been made. The ministers have not decided what the cuts will be in our department or in any other department for that matter. That is still to come.
That being said, I feel that the government is aware of how important the knowledge economy is. I am basing this on the various comments Minister Goodyear has made in a number of speeches as to the importance of supporting research.
The academic research we support through granting councils is essentially medium and long-term research. It is not applied research like the research conducted at Pratt & Whitney, where the goal is, for example, to improve the efficiency of an engine so that it uses less fuel. The research we are funding in universities is medium and long-term. Minister Goodyear has stressed the importance of this type of research on a number of occasions.
As for the cuts, when the time comes to make some difficult decisions, the ministers will have to do so, but there has been no decision so far.