Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for commenting on this topic.
However, my question had to do with the muzzling of scientists and not with funding for science. That said, since my hon. colleague brought it up, I will tell her that Statistics Canada has shown that funding for science and technology in Canada has dropped by more than 14% over the past five years. This looks bad for the federal government.
Not only do the Conservatives want to muzzle scientists, but they also want to dismantle any mechanism that would enable us to investigate this censorship.
Despite a 31% increase in complaints to the Information Commissioner this year, her budget has been cut by nearly 10% since 2009. Wait times have now reached disastrous levels. That is not standard practice for a government that has nothing to hide.
Why does the Conservative government not take action to unmuzzle scientists?