Mr. Speaker, the most important part of a science conference is the informal discussions that take place in the hallways, not the formal presentations in the seminar rooms. What happens in the hallways is that people have ideas and data. They are 80% sure they understand what is going on and they share their ideas among their colleagues, who push, pull, squeeze and test the ideas. Then after those conversations, they may be 90% sure or perhaps 0% sure because someone shot down their idea. That 90% then becomes 95% and people keep talking. That is how scientific ideas are tested, hardened and refined.
I do not know if the government properly appreciates the importance of communication and of trying out ideas that one is not quite sure about, which might be wrong or embarrassing, or the effect of having media handlers follow scientists around at scientific conferences. I am wondering what my hon. colleague thinks about that.