Mr. Gourde, I would like to point out that research and innovation are fields where we need additional investment. Our communities often have community organizations whose funding makes it possible to do some awareness, collaboration and communication work, but I believe we have major challenges in the area of research and innovation.
We say we don't know how the departments should invest in the communities, but if we were better prepared and better equipped for research, we would be able to inform the departments of our results. We would be able to establish performance indicators in our communities and really monitor our progress. We currently have trouble determining certain aspects such as vitality indicators, and that makes work on the ground difficult.
The Roadmap could help fund not only the major researchers, but also action research in the field. That would enable us to do a better job and ensure that Canadian investment yields even more.