Mr. Speaker, at this point in time, students and university administrators are concerned about what will happen to research subsidies that were supposed to be granted to humanities, and perhaps even those that were meant for health sciences. A lot of research has been done and is still going on in areas other than business. What will the criteria be for the new program? This is a very serious issue. The budget only mentions business, but engineering is important too.
As I said earlier, private enterprise is responsible for most of the research and development going on in Quebec. If the government subsidizes universities directly, it will be harder to ensure that technology transfer benefits our companies. Innovation is important to businesses, whether they are in manufacturing or forestry, as we have already pointed out many times, and research and development are just as important. We have repeatedly told the government that it should invest more in these areas in order to protect them. There is also the aerospace sector, which we discussed earlier. Quebec should also be getting its fair share of defence spending. The pharmaceutical industry is also big in Quebec. That is why research and development are so important.
Then there is biotechnology. Many of Quebec's universities are working hard in that industry, and the government should keep investing in it, and not just in sectors with immediate payback. All of these areas are important. Things are happening now, and the government should keep investing in what is most important. Above all, it should not invest in ways that hurt Quebec, as it is now shamelessly doing. It is obvious that Quebec is not getting its fair share of all the money allocated to R and D.