And we've lost that person's expertise because the University of Maine was able to come up with the funding to supply his laboratory and technical assistance that UNB was having to curtail because the sources of funding that we have are drying up. There is no doubt the government shares this view.
Productivity is an important determinant of economic growth and our future standard of living.
Our future wealth depends on Canada's productivity performance. It is the foundation of our economic and social prosperity and our ability to compete in a global market. In the last budget, the federal government announced significant increases in the funding of the three Canadian granting councils which provide financing for Canada's best and brightest researchers. Now that our fiscal house is in order, the Committee recommends new financial initiatives that will facilitate basic and applied research in Canada. If adopted, the set of recommendations will increase our ability to capture productivity gains, attract and retain highly productive researchers and successfully adapt to the knowledge-based economy.