Last week, there's a protest by hundreds of professional scientists which skewered the federal government's funding cuts.

I guess that Harper just puts more focus on scientific and technological research projects which have more commercial values, against the backdrop of a perennially gloomy global economic climate.

All in all, to decide when to put more public financial resources into scientific research activities and when to put less is the job of the elected government and the democracy, the society, NOT the scientists, IMHO.