Good morning.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for permitting me to join you by video link from Toronto, and for the invitation to present our ideas for the next federal budget on behalf of Polytechnics Canada.
I hope you've noted our August submission to your committee. While I am pleased to discuss our ongoing ideas about improving Canada's prosperity and productivity through support for research and innovation, that is, the theme you have invited us to address today, I will also say a few words at the end about the other critical thing we have presented recommendations for: maximizing employment opportunities for Canadians.
Since we met last year, I am pleased to report that our association has now grown to 11 research intensive colleges and polytechnics, with new members from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. These leading institutions of training and industry innovation are addressing Canada's skills gaps and lags in innovation performance. We are very proud to report to you that our 11 members alone counted over 11,100 students involved in industry-driven R and D projects last year, up from 9,500 students the year before. This represents a growing cohort of students armed with vital innovation skills for the benefit of our industry partners in all sectors. This is the best outcome of the modest funding for federal college research.
Our members are heartened that the 2013 federal budget recognized our recommendations, particularly those relating to college research and apprenticeship. Inclusion in federal programs and equitable treatment of colleges in the research spectrum are two principles that members of this committee have endorsed, and for that we are most grateful. As you have seen in our submission, though financially modest, our ideas for the next budget are practical and actionable because we understand that the fiscal cloth is limited.
We propose two specific research and innovation related recommendations.
First, my colleague made mention of the indirect costs program. Polytechnics Canada was invited to participate in the review of this program, as announced in Budget 2013. Yet a quick analysis shows that the very same college research program I mentioned above, the college and community innovation program—the program that enables us to do industry driven R and D—is not eligible for the indirect costs program. We can find no policy rationale for this. The decade-long exclusion leaves the misplaced impression that college and polytechnic applied research does not meet the standard of excellence that the indirect costs program is designed to foster. We are not advocating an increase in the size of the existing $332 million program, but we hope the committee will support the principle that all those post-secondary institutions that are conducting R and D activity are treated fairly under the program.
Second, for too long we have focused on the technological and manufacturing sectors as the priority for R and D, when Canada’s GDP relies heavily on the service sector as well. More specifically, we believe the time has come to focus on the social sector in terms of lagging innovation. The committee should urge the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to harness the diverse and deep strength of colleges and polytechnics in social sector innovation, something the current college program is not geared to do. Whether on matters such as early childhood education, nursing practices, or aboriginal community development, we see evidence of colleges collaborating with social organizations to put innovative practices into operation, leading to improved outcomes for all. Yet these kinds of activities are not considered high research. A small pot of competitive funding for colleges to address this demand would benefit many communities.
As I mentioned, Polytechnics Canada also has budget recommendations on your employment theme. We applaud your committee’s decision to undertake a study of youth unemployment and underemployment. Our relevant recommendations in this area relate to labour market information and to modernizing Canada’s rusted-out apprenticeship system, with as easy an opening of a program like Canada's student loans program to mature Red Seal apprentices. Without a sense of jobs in demand, without restoring dignity to vocational training, employment opportunities are being lost for Canada’s youth.
You know that research and innovation lead to highly qualified skilled workers. The time has come to link government support for R and D to government support for learners and workers. No sector can be left out of the innovation game.
Thank you.