Thank you very much.
Our advice is straightforward and the same as we have been giving for the past several years. To build a dynamic and productive economy, one in which Canadians enjoy the best quality of life and the highest possible standard of living, the federal government must significantly increase its spending to support, one, the core operations of post-secondary institutions through a dedicated transfer; two, the federal research granting agencies; and three, its own research infrastructure. Let me speak briefly to each of these.
One, we are advocating the creation of a dedicated federal-provincial transfer mechanism to increase funding for the core operating costs of post-secondary education. Great things have happened in the country since 1997 with all of the spending that we have seen for the research community--the researchers, the professors, and public institutions. But the infrastructure has definitely been falling apart in the last 10 years or so, and you only have to go to schools, take a look at these, and see where we are with infrastructure of universities, colleges, libraries, laboratories, and buildings. It is not in great shape.
Another statistic, one that surprised me, was that in 2004 Ontario ranked 59th out of 60 North American state and provincial jurisdictions in per capita spending on post-secondary education. It seems a little strange that the mighty economy of Ontario was ranked right at the bottom.
To be successful, we are advocating that the transfer should have established principles, ensuring accessibility, quality, and academic integrity; contain binding enforcement mechanisms much like the Canada Health Act; and be set at a fixed percentage of GDP so that the provinces and the federal government will not have to review this each and every year, possibly something like 0.05%. That would take it to the federal funding level of the late 1970s as a percentage.
Lastly on this, this could help address the fiscal imbalance of the country. It's an opportune moment for the federal Government of Canada to take the lead.
Our second recommendation is to increase the budget of the federal research granting agencies. This is important in Canada because our research in public institutions is a much higher percentage versus the United States. There are many more international head offices in the states, and consequently that percentage difference. Research in Canada is critical--SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR--and the funding increases there are not just strictly for the research, but also for the competition of bringing in the best and brightest minds from around the world. Of course, each and every western economy is in the same battle.
Lastly, on that recommendation, we ask that the federal government take a look at the SSHRC funding and give consideration to giving it a special boost in percentage. Things have changed over the last number of years in our societies. There are new issues, and understanding cultural differences is something that scientists and engineers will not tackle, but social scientists will. Their recommendation is to reinvest in government research infrastructure. Many of these projects are long-term, statistical, and last for decades.
I believe the public believes that we need to have a strong government research arm. We have major challenges in environment, energy, pandemic response, food and drug safety, and national security. The program review in the early 1990s cut out the funding for many of these agencies and departments, and it's time to review that and to bring it back up to where it should be. I think this would also go a long way toward addressing what's happening in the public service and bring back a much stronger public service in the future.
In conclusion, the structural factors in the Canadian economy, notably a high level of foreign ownership and a reliance on resource extraction, means that a large portion of the research conducted in Canada is performed in the public sector, and that's the reason for those recommendations.
Thank you very much.