Thank you.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you today.
For those of you who aren't familiar with our organization, the conservatory is recognized as providing the definitive standard in music curriculum design and assessment—some of the music tests you may have taken, I hope—teacher certification, artist training, and concert presentation. The conservatory is considered one of the most respected cultural institutions in the world today.
Today I believe it's widely acknowledged that the capacity for creative thought is necessary to drive the innovation required for economic success in every single field. The point I want to make is that the creative impulse needs to be nourished, if we want people who can conceive what does not yet exist. Long-term participation in the study of music is the best means we have to achieve that aim. No less a figure than Albert Einstein used music as a stimulus to his imagination and credited the revelation about the theory of relativity to music making.
Today there is conclusive scientific evidence that music study stimulates the connections of the brains of young people and contributes to higher order thinking skills. Schools that have strong arts-based learning programs inevitably lead in academic achievement. There is no better example than an initiative that the conservatory led in Fort McMurray, which increased the provincial test scores of indigenous students by more than 20%, closing the gap for the first time with all students in the province.
If Canada is to lead in the innovation economy, it is clear that extended participation in music and the arts by its young people will provide a significant competitive advantage.
The conservatory sees an enormous opportunity to merge the extraordinary power of the arts with digital technology to usher in a new era of innovation among all Canadians. We want to build a digital educational platform that provides access to creative activity for all Canadians, especially in underserved regions. This digital platform will also enable us to promote and sell our successful Canadian IP to a vast international audience, which I can tell you includes 41 million young people in China alone who are studying the piano.
The learning systems and content of the conservatory today are used by more than 30,000 private music teachers across the country operating as small business owners in urban, suburban, rural, and remote communities from coast to coast, and these teachers instruct more than 500,000 students each year in every community in the nation. The RCM is also active in professional training for teachers, who subsequently provide this infrastructure in our communities and for artists. We have more than five million alumni, and they include many of the great musicians who drive our music industry, from the late Glenn Gould and Oscar Peterson to Diana Krall, Sarah McLachlan, Gordon Lightfoot, Chilly Gonzales, producers David Foster and Bob Ezrin, the Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, etc.
My recommendation to this committee is to support a major investment in building digital infrastructure for Canadian cultural IP and content that can enable Canada to become a global leader and brand in a very important economic area. Success in this undertaking would create jobs and generate economic growth in the cultural sector, which as you know is a $47-billion industry. It will boost the earning potential of tens of thousands of independent small business-owners, enhance the success of our artists and creators, and stimulate international growth. In providing greater access, it will also support the middle class, who believe in the importance of music study as a means of personal, social, and intellectual development in their children. Ultimately, it will lead to stronger connections and understanding among our people and strengthen social cohesion.
Thank you.