Mr. Chair, thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before this important committee to talk to you about two key factors for the future of Canada; the advancement of knowledge in the humanities and the development of the talent necessary for the advancement of the Canadian economy and society in the twenty-first century.
I am here today as the new president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The SSHRC is the federal government agency that invests in research and training in fields that range from law to linguistics, history to marketing, and education to economics. In other words, we are Canada's research agency that focuses on people. We invest in world-class research about how human beings—individuals, communities, and societies—interact with each other and with the natural world we all share.
The knowledge generated by our researchers is a crucial part of the answer to the question you have asked us to address: how can Canada prosper in the new competitive world? Our answer to this question is twofold: first, by increasing our capacity to generate the knowledge we need to address our challenges as a society; and second, by further developing the talent required for the labour force of the knowledge economy.
The research funded by the SSHRC helps better understand individuals and groups, develop policies based on conclusive data and improve the way society operates.
Allow me to give you a few examples.
SSHRC-funded researchers at the University of Toronto are looking at the social dynamics of innovation, explaining why certain towns and cities attract creative and innovative workers. Our researchers at the University of British Columbia are developing ways to authenticate digital records, allowing inventors to establish patents for their ideas and products. Our researchers at the University of Winnipeg are working with inner-city residents to revitalize historic neighbourhoods. Our researchers at HEC Montréal are creating tools for forensic accounting, protecting investors and employees against white-collar crime.
In supporting research, the SSHRC also invests in people, the talent we increasingly need both in and outside the country. In recent years, most of the jobs created in Canada have been for people with postsecondary diplomas. Our students become corporate CEOs, lawyers, educators, community leaders and policy development officers.
Evidence shows that the knowledge, capacity, and experience our students gain from working in world-class research environments help fuel Canada's economic growth and success as a society.
In the statement you have before you, we explain that increased investment in the research environment is needed, particularly to support the work of the thousands of new researchers in the social sciences and humanities. We need to keep them here in Canada. We need to give them the means to do world-class research and to attract and train graduate students for a changing labour market. Standing still means losing ground internationally.
With an additional investment of $35 million this year, we can begin responding to the increased demand for knowledge and talent. We will enhance support for the new generation of researchers, enrich the training environment for our students, and maximize the impact of knowledge for society.
Mr. Chair, the equation is straightforward: by building knowledge about people and developing talent, Canada will indeed be able to assert its place as a leader in the competitive world of the 21st century.
Indeed, Mr. Chair, you may not be surprised to know that I think about our present challenge from an historical perspective. I think that in a world in which the challenge of simply co-existing seems daunting, we now need more than ever to gain better understandings of how individuals and groups can best share this planet.
Thank you.