Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely correct when he says that what we need for science and technology in this country is stable funding. There has been quite a bit of talk about Genome Canada and the investments in it. What we did not see were new investments in Genome Canada, for example, or projects for the future.
I can say that these are incredibly important. They are incredibly important not just for the medical discoveries and the scientific endeavours of today, but for tomorrow. We cannot be involved in developments with international consortia. For example, I talked a bit about what is being done in the United States with regard to cancers. We do not have any new moneys to put on the table. There is no new funding. Projects that were accepted two years ago are being funded, absolutely, but there is no new money for new endeavours.
Also, I would like to add another huge concern. My other hon. colleague raised the same issue. We are concerned about the biotechnology industry, which does not have any secure funding at the moment. In the economic downturn, we are seeing challenges with regard to venture capital investments, and this is stymied as well.
At a time when we should be encouraging more investment and a knowledge-based economy, we have seen $148 million cut from the granting councils and no new money for Genome Canada. Of course, we all know that the venture capital market is also very tight. I am very sad to see this happening in our great country, and very sad that we will not be on the leading edge as we move forward.