Thank you, Mr. Chair.
On behalf of our 25 student associations across the country, representing over 300,000 students, I want to thank you all for the opportunity to appear before you today and to bring forward our recommendations.
Canada needs more educated people with less debt. Canada recently fell from 8th to 12th place in the rankings of the Global Innovation Index and from 19th to 25th place for investment in human capital and research. This shows that compared with other nations, Canada is not investing enough in higher education and research and development to keep pace. While our outputs are good, other countries are catching up.
CASA believes the government should invest in programs that are working and further invest in those that will complement future success.
By 2017, university and college education will be required for 75% of new jobs. The problem, however, is that the costs of attaining an education are increasing at a dizzying pace, a fact that I know everyone in this room is aware of. Since 1991, the costs of education have more than tripled. In the decade between 2000 and 2010, costs of education increased more than 211%.
Given the increased costs, more and more students are turning to loans, both public and private, to fund their education, ultimately driving up their debt loads upon graduation. In 2010, Statistics Canada reported we are graduating students 10 years financially behind. The government can help address this by increasing grant funding through the Canada student grants program.
Since 2010, the CSGP has reduced the average student loan by $461. For a reasonable investment, the government can do even more by increasing available funding by 25% per qualified student. Such an investment will reduce the overall debt for low- and middle-income students, helping some of those with the most need.
Canada's universities and colleges are also magnets for global talent, and as a country, we want to not only cultivate the best and the brightest, but we should also want to attract them. Last year it was announced that 1,000 doctoral students would be accepted for permanent residency under the federal skilled worker program. The value of attracting and retaining international students is found both within the classroom and their contributions to the overall economy. The government should consider extending a similar fast track to the permanent residency program for international master's, undergraduates, and college students in disciplines that would address Canada's labour shortages.
We also need to have a focus on creating opportunity for Canadians. Demographic projections illustrate that one of the most important investments the government can make is in the aboriginal population of Canada, which is forecast to grow to 1.4 million by 2017. However, the program currently structured to support first nations and Inuit students is under a 2% funding cap placed on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. The PSSSP is an example of a program that could ensure future success if better funded. Those who've received funding are accessing and completing their education, and this is a positive.
We're recommending the government remove the 2% funding cap on the post-secondary student support program, fund the backlog of students who've been denied funding, and ensure that the program is adequately funded into the future.
This week is also Open Access Week. Canada needs to ensure that tomorrow's labour force has every means at its disposal to create, manufacture, innovate, and discover. This cannot be ensured through training alone. At present, most of the new findings and information generated through this research are paid for through public dollars, but it is not publicly available. The government should motivate innovation and entrepreneurial spirit by enacting legislation requiring the three federal agencies, SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR, to ensure that all findings produced with publicly funded research are made available in an open access format.
In closing, I'd like to draw your attention to the importance of creating incentives for youth employment. Finding a job is one of the greatest challenges facing youth and students today. Canada's economy has added jobs, but youth have been left behind. To cover the costs of living, tuition, and academic materials, many students supplement available financial assistance by working during their studies. It has been reported that during the last year of an undergraduate program, 62% of students work, on average, 18 hours per week. Our members were pleased to see the government take action on the income work assessment. Now we ask the committee to take the next step and remove this earnings penalty altogether. No Canadian should be punished for earning a living.
The budget is a reflection of priorities. CASA believes every investment in education is an investment in our future prosperity and is a symbol of what makes Canada great.
Thank you.