Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you on behalf of Canada's extensive network of colleges, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and institutes that serve over 3,000 urban, rural, northern, and remote communities from coast to coast to coast, with an impact of $191 billion in 2014-15.
Our students, faculty, administrators, and immediate families represent one Canadian in eight.
In its written presentation, Colleges and Institutes Canada has submitted eight recommendations to support the government plan to achieve inclusive growth that will benefit the entire Canadian population and reduce social and economic disparities.
Related recommendations have also been presented during other consultations, including those on innovation, the fundamental science review, international development aid, and, soon, official languages.
Today I will touch only on three key areas that our members see as opportunities to contribute to the government's agenda.
First, to stimulate economic growth, Canada must unleash the innovation potential of small and medium-sized enterprises by supporting applied research that can strengthen local economies and communities across the country.
How? Colleges and institutes occupy a distinct niche in Canada's innovation ecosystem that is complementary to discovery research. Colleges have capitalized on their strong community connections and modest federal investments in applied research to respond to the R and D needs of local and regional partners.
Let me give you numbers now.
In 2014-15, Colleges and Institutes Canada worked with more than 6,000 applied research partners, 86% of which were small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises, to improve products, develop new products, and create prototypes or processes and services.
Where colleges and institutes make a big difference is in helping these SMEs to innovate and scale up their operations and create jobs, often in support of the vital roles they play in the supply chains of large companies. SMEs, as you know, represent 99.7% of all Canadian firms, and employ 90% of the private sector workforce, yet account for just 27% of total R and D expenditures, so there's a lot of potential for growth.
We recommend that the government ramp up federal investment in college and institute applied research over five years from $75 million to $300 million per year. So far, since 2008, we have received funding of $5 million to $10 million per year, but it is insufficient and we have to turn down industry now. This increase in federal support would capitalize on the very welcome strategic investments this government has made over the past few months in college and institute innovation infrastructure.
Examples of how the new funding could stimulate growth include creating more specialized research centres to work with small and medium-sized enterprises, building on the success of the 30 technology access centres that the government is currently funding; and expanding the reach of college-based applied research in the fields of health care and social innovation.
Second—