Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the committee for the opportunity to speak to you today about technical education.
I represent Red River College, which is the largest institute...[Technical difficulty--Editor]...150 institutions of...in Canada, representing a presence in 900 communities. So there is really an opportunity for the tools of public policy.
I want to go directly to my punch line so I make sure to get my major priority items in.
I would concur with my colleague on the development of a direct transfer. It is an opportunity to establish direct post-secondary education funding that is part of the Canada social transfer and to negotiate a direct transfer that responds to the needs in Manitoba. That is vitally important for us. We know we're in an environment in which health is a major priority. On the other hand, we also recognize the importance of post-secondary education.
The second item would definitely be infrastructure. We look toward the development of a college enhancement fund for facility and equipment modernization. In colleges across Canada, aging physical plants, deferred maintenance, aging program equipment, and older classrooms require upgrading to maintain capacity. Many of our technical institutes and colleges were developed in the 1970s, and that infrastructure is failing at a time when there are more critical needs for skilled people and when technologies need to be upgraded to keep pace with the competitive influences that are there. So second is direct investments in infrastructure.
Then there is research in colleges, which is a different type of research than what is described in universities. It is research that we do directly with industry and business to solve problems and to develop opportunities for commercialization--new products, new services, innovation--that comes through partnerships with industry.
The other item I would focus on is the opportunities to enhance apprenticeship programming. We are confronting a major skills shortage, not just in Alberta but right across this country. In Manitoba right now, there are critical needs for skilled labour, for people who have gone through an apprenticeship program.
I can tell you that we have significant lineups in our institution of young people who want to get into the skilled trades. The federal government has done a fabulous job in raising the profile of the need for skilled tradespeople, and that has created demand. Now we need to address the issues of capacity so that young people who choose to get into the skilled trades have the opportunity to study in those areas.
The other opportunity, again reinforcing what my colleague has said about the importance of aboriginal people, is that we know that the aspirations of the aboriginal community in Manitoba actually are very much towards post-secondary education--in fact, more than in the general population. They want to make their way into post-secondary, but we need to be there to respond in ways that will support them financially, culturally, and with special programs. A focus on aboriginal people is a great opportunity for Manitoba, because it is the only growing home demographic in Canada. Manitoba benefits from a very youthful aboriginal population, and we would love to have support there.
On support for immigrants, Manitoba's population is growing, and it is largely because new Canadians are starting to choose Manitoba as a destination, not just Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. They have special needs for bridging programs and opportunities to get them into the workforce to fully utilize the skills they come with. We believe colleges can serve as wonderful places for new Canadians to bridge into our economy.
We would also look to alleviate student financial barriers by working with the provinces to provide scholarships and loan remediation programs. At Red River College, we want to be an institution of access so that anyone who wants to have an education has the opportunity, but for many the barrier is financial. We look forward to working with the federal government on creating solutions to those financial barriers.
Again, we're very pleased to see you here today, and I'm proud to say that Red River College has a presence right here in Portage la Prairie. We have one of our main campuses here. We are proud to have you here today.
Thank you very much.