Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Mississauga—Erindale for his comments.
He talked a great deal about innovation and the importance of research. As the Liberal Party critic for science and technology, I often consult universities. Furthermore, I am privileged to have three universities in my riding.
The message I am hearing from researchers at our universities is this: the two main priorities in terms of research funding are increasing the budgets of Canada's three research councils and increasing funding for the indirect costs of research at our universities.
Can my colleague from Mississauga—Erindale explain to me why the government allocated only $8 million for indirect research costs in this year's budget? He said they have increased funding for research councils by $32 million, while last year, they cut $148 million over three years. How does he reconcile those two actions?