Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I would like to begin by thanking the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Canadian Academy of Engineering on the state of engineering in Canada today.
The Canadian Academy of Engineering is the national institution through which Canada's most distinguished, experienced, and accomplished engineers provide strategic advice on matters of critical importance to the nation. Though a number of issues will merit your close consideration today, our brief introductory remarks will focus on three keys ideas: the high quality but insufficient number of Canadian engineers, the urgent need for adequate succession planning for Canada's next generation of engineers, and the importance of engineering input in Canada's economy and in creating policy.
On the first point, Canada has the enviable reputation of having one of the finest engineering education systems in the world, as our colleagues have already mentioned. It is characterized, however, by a unique combination of provincial jurisdiction over the institutions that provide the education, provincial jurisdiction of the engineering profession itself, and compliance to high standards of excellence set by a national organization, the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, which regulates the accreditation of all faculties and programs.
For engineering graduates to be admitted to the profession without taking exams, all engineering programs, regardless of province or size, must meet the same high standards of excellence set by this board. As a result, Canadian engineers are recognized internationally for their excellence in many fields. I'll name just a few: aerospace, automotive parts, electric power transmission, hydroelectric power generation, nuclear power generation, information and communications, resource extraction, satellites, simulation and virtual environments, and many, many more.
Unfortunately, Canada has among the lowest numbers of engineers per capita of the OECD nations, a fact that creates uncertainty around Canada's capacity to do five things: maintain its present infrastructure, build new infrastructure, meet the needs of growing and emerging industries, develop new applications and products, and stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship.
Let us now turn to the issue of succession planning.
Canada is faced with a generational problem. That too has been highlighted by my colleagues here today. At least a quarter of all Canadian engineers could retire within the next 10 years, at a time when an expansion of the engineering pool is absolutely essential. Simultaneously, Canada is challenged to maintain its present supply.
Historically, the gap between supply and demand has been filled by immigration. Unfortunately, as we look towards the future, this is no longer an option. China and India now wish to keep their engineers for their own nation-building. Those still open to immigration are now aggressively courted by Scandinavia, Europe, and even Japan, countries that traditionally have not had to do so.
The same is true for the university professors who will educate the next generation of engineers. Canada will need to step up efforts to graduate professors from among its own young people, rather than relying on immigration. Canada needs to significantly stimulate its ability to graduate far more engineers at the bachelor, master's, and doctoral levels, especially women engineers and first nations engineers.
Let us now briefly address the third issue, that of the impact of engineers on Canada and policy.
Canada's industry competes in a world economy, and access to engineering talent is a key competitive advantage underlying Canada's capacity not only to maintain but to grow its wealth-generating environment, either through U.S.-style innovation or through Canada's historically successful big-project innovation strategy.
Also, for nations to be competitive, they need enlightened policy. In a world dominated by rapidly changing technology trends, understanding the deeper meaning of these trends is key to a nation's competitive position. The need for engineering input in formulating national policy has never been as important as it is today.
In conclusion, access to a pool of engineers of adequate breadth and quantity is key to the sustainable social and economic development of any modern nation.
The Canadian Academy of Engineering recommends that the federal government provide leadership in creating a joint federal-provincial partnership for greatly accelerating our nation's capacity to develop human capital in all fields of engineering. The academy also recommends that representatives from industry, universities, and the profession be called upon to provide advice on how best to achieve the needed gains in graduation rates at all levels.
Again, thank you very much for your kind attention and for the opportunity to appear before you today.