Mr. Speaker, for once I would have liked a real answer to my question, but as someone once said, it is called question period, not answer period. I can see that the same holds true for adjournment proceedings.
In response to the parliamentary secretary, I would like to quote the president of ACFAS, Louise Dandurand, who wrote to the Minister of Industry in the fall to condemn this situation. Here is one eloquent excerpt:
There is an urgent need for action. For years, Canadian universities and the college system have been forced to dip into their own operating budgets to compensate for the lack of investment in the [indirect costs program], thus jeopardizing certain student services and the survival of research projects.
Like us, she is calling for a federal investment to cover 40% of the indirect costs of research. Will the government listen to the people who know?
I hope so because for now, the government's inaction is creating an unhealthy climate in which the top research universities are being penalized. The more grants they receive, the harder it is for universities to make up for the shortfall resulting from indirect costs that are not covered.