Thank you.
I will hold throughout my presentation that investments made in post-secondary education produce all-round benefits to society and democracy, and that global competition is an incredibly narrow view of what investments in post-secondary education can do for Canada. But I can respond within this frame, because it is remarkably evident that universities are drivers of economic growth. These are points that I touch on in my submission.
Competitiveness comes from the citizenry's ability to understand and benefit from an increasingly complex global marketplace. When you think about it, what else could you spend money on to enhance competitiveness, aside from investing in Canadians themselves through the post-secondary education system?
Investments in education are essential. You cannot expect any competition gains arising from the corporate sector alone to be of wide benefit to Canadians. Corporate philosophy holds that competitiveness can be commoditized, and competition becomes an end in itself. This I take to be a rather shallow presentation of the purposes and benefits of competition.
The university, on the other hand, engages a more societal and holistic debate, arming people with the ability to go forth into the private sector and utilize the innovation and knowledge attained in school to pursue not just lower bottom lines, but real social growth in their communities and businesses. This is the underlying framework of competition that cannot go overlooked.
If you take away the ability for all Canadians to have access to these analytical skills and knowledge bases, you risk creating an unbalanced competitiveness--political, social, and economic inequality. Competitiveness for Canada's 21st century does not require a low-wage workforce to produce commodities for a global trade. It requires a highly educated citizenry to produce innovation and spur growth. This is why ensuring access to high-quality post-secondary education systems must be a top priority of this government.
This is why all student groups across the country, including the AMS of UBC, are calling on the federal government to join with the provinces to create a vision for our post-secondary education system. That vision would ensure that higher-education institutions are helping young Canadians acquire the skills they need to be competitive, but also to educate them so they may better serve their communities and more effectively participate as citizens. This vision will hopefully include more funding to provinces for post-secondary education, and more targeted grants for underrepresented students to participate in post-secondary education.
Thank you.