We discussed research before the committee resumed its meeting. The need for research is very real, and different organizations are funded to do the research. However, the programs of the Department of Canadian Heritage were not designed to fund research in the communities. But the organizations to which we provide core funding can use it to pay for research contracts.
In the past, we have used an endowment fund to create the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, based in Moncton. This was not done as part of our programs, since it was a separate decision by the government. In summary, we financially support the circulation of research to a degree, but not research as such.
You mentioned my title as a policy and research officer. When we need to do research for our programs or for the government, our approach is to award research contracts, such as to Statistics Canada or to our in-house researchers. However, this mechanism cannot fund the activities of institutes that conduct research for communities. That is the current situation, and I am aware that this may be a challenge or a shortcoming.