Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I welcome the witnesses who are with us today.
Mr. Gaffield, I'm happy to see you again. I think this is your fourth or fifth the visit. It's always pleasant to hear from you.
I think the picture of the situation is pretty clear. I was looking at our last discussion and, on December 5 of last year, you said the investment situation was rather worrisome. Some words struck me when I reread your testimony. You represent the 15 largest Canadian universities and receive nearly 85% of funding. We're talking about billions of dollars, here. Your testimony today is therefore serious. On December 5 of last year, you said that the stagnation of scholarship funds over the last 20 years revealed indifference and inattention. In the beginning, Mr. Gaffield, very sincerely, I told myself it might be a misunderstanding on the part of the government. However, it is now evident that it's not just a misunderstanding. I'm 100% sure of it. Unfortunately, the government takes for granted scientific researchers, the university system, the college system and all the people in graduate-level education. I find it embarrassing, even absurd, for a government not to understand the importance of investing in research today. You know that the decisions and investments we make today may not be a political win. However, they will be a win for our society as a whole in 10, 20 and 30 years.
Understand that there are 6,000 graduate scholarships in Canada. However, there are 240,000 students. You can see that a small percentage of people get scholarships. We've been informed that 80% of graduate-level students get their funding by working with senior researchers. In its report sponsored by the government, the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, presided by Mr. Frederic Bouchard, highlighted that many students, if not most, don't get funding through scholarships. It's an undeniable issue because without considerable reinvestment, given the global competition for talent, Canada will very likely see another exodus of highly qualified people. I'm sure you know this, but I will say it again: Canada is the only G7 country to have lost researchers since 2016.
Here's the question I want to ask you: Is it fair to say that increasing granting agencies' overall funding is inextricably linked to increasing graduate-level scholarships if we want to truly tackle the issue of the next generation of scientists in Quebec and Canada?