Thank you. Merci beaucoup.
CBIE's brief underscores the importance of international education for Canada and Canadians. In a globalized, competitive and knowledge-based world, attracting greater numbers of qualified international students to Canada and sending greater numbers of Canadian students abroad to gain international knowledge and competencies is essential to Canada's prosperity. Canada's main global competitors recognize this fact and are investing heavily in international education to ensure that they are able to compete effectively and efficiently, with a view to acquiring the talents and competencies their labour markets require and building strategic relationships in the future.
In international education Canada is falling behind. Our brief highlights recent data that make a compelling case as to the short-term and long-term economic benefits from attracting greater numbers of international students to Canada and sending more Canadian students abroad.
In the interest of time, I will not reiterate these points but would be pleased to say more about these links to economic competitiveness during the discussion.
When it comes to addressing these gaps, our brief makes three recommendations. Our first recommendation focuses on international education marketing. CBIE was grateful that in its 2009 report this committee highlighted the importance of international students and recommended that the federal government, in partnership with the provinces and territories, explore the development of a national strategy to promote greater emphasis on Canadian education services exports. I'm very pleased to report that there have been important developments in this regard since last year.
In order to bring greater coherence to the education sector's international marketing efforts, the five key national associations, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the Canadian Association of Public Schools--International, CBIE, and Languages Canada have established the Canadian Consortium for International Education Marketing. These associations recognize that collective action is required to improve Canada's visibility in the competitive global education market and thereby achieve better results. It is important to note that the consortium has established strong working relationships with key federal departments and provincial–territorial governments through the Council of Ministers of Education Canada.
Moreover, at their August meeting, provincial–territorial premiers committed to further develop an international education marketing action plan that identifies areas for investment and opportunities for federal-provincial collaboration on marketing. At a follow-up meeting on September 24, education ministers confirmed their intention to work in cooperation with the federal government and key stakeholders to address barriers to attracting international students. Therefore, the key actors, governments and the education sector itself, are aligned and working in partnership so that we can maximize the results of an additional investment in education marketing, an investment we hope this committee will recommend in the context of its upcoming report.
Our brief identifies a target for this investment of $22 million per year for five years. Comparative data show that this target would put Canada on a more level playing field with its competitor countries.
In the context of this year's fiscal constraint, however, we recognize that a shorter-term commitment at this level of funding might be more feasible. Even this level of investment for an initial period of two years would help Canada make an important step forward, allowing us to deploy the federal–provincial Imagine Canada brand effectively, leverage the strong partnerships that now exist, and capitalize on the capacities of key stakeholders rather than duplicating efforts.
In our view, the foundations of an effective national marketing campaign are in place, but we cannot be successful without a significant federal investment.
CBIE believes that the recommendations outlined in its brief, which call for new funding in this area, represent a wise investment that will better position Canada for future success.
Thank you for the opportunity to present our position today.
I look forward to answering your questions and hearing your views.
Thank you very much.