There are two very important observations to make. Not all expenditures made by the Government of Canada on research can be described as subsidy. There are lots of places where investments are made in basic science for the benefit of the population generally. This is one of those areas in which the investment in nuclear technology that's been happening for more than 60 years now has paid off, with the export of units to Argentina, Romania, South Korea, China, where the benefits have flowed back into a number of communities and significant businesses in this country. So I would say that for basic science understanding, for academic understanding, the $540 million you identified is not to be described as a subsidy as much as it is to be described as basic science understanding.
On May 16th, 2007. See this statement in context.