Evidence of meeting #14 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was universities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll give you one minute to answer, Mr. Davidson, if you want to take that time.
4:55 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
Yes. I have a couple of things on the skills gap. What the evidence will show is that the skills gap is very sectoral and very geographical. It is not a crisis, and it is not a pan-Canadian problem. That's what the evidence and data will show.
Second, I invite you to watch some new research coming out in about two weeks from the University of Ottawa. It tracks students' earnings over 15 years post-graduation, from a range of disciplines and from colleges and universities. It will provide hard evidence about what students are earning. It's linked to income tax files, so this is not survey data. This is every student and their tax file.
On the question of business investment and training, that's one of the reasons why I like the Siemens model so much. He's not just talking about what needs to be done and he's not just asking others for help. He's investing time, effort, and creativity to give students a really high quality of training.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Dan Ruimy
Could you forward that report to the clerk? The clerk will send it out to everybody
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
That's a good suggestion, Mr. Chair.
I want to conclude with this. One of the things that I still find concerning, though, is that the model we've set up right now to move our system forward is going to be extremely challenged. That's why I raised the issue with regard to monetary redistribution in terms of supporting this as a significant piece for the future. Also, there's the fact that students are customers, really, and they demand a product that actually has results at the end of the day. I think that's a fair expectation. It's not just the universities and colleges that are part of doing that; it's also about societal expectations and the marketing of post-secondary education to students.
One thing that I would like to see happen—and maybe you can over-deliver on expectations on this—is with regard to foreign training credentials and getting that resolved to some degree. I'll give a quick example to get it on the record for you to think about.
In Windsor, Ontario, where I come from, we have people who cross the border to the United States, where their credentials are recognized. That includes, for example, the health care system. Doctors, nurses, and health care professionals go over into the United States every single day and save lives. Ironically, sometimes they're Canadian lives because we can't fit them into our hospitals, so we ship them over there.
But they're not recognized over here in Canada. I think that's one of the things that we all need to work on, because we have too many people driving to—
5 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
If I can jump in very quickly on that. With regard to employment outcomes and delivering for students—
5 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Dan Ruimy
Actually, sorry, we have enough for one quick round of seven minutes each.
5 p.m.
Conservative
Alex Nuttall Conservative Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON
We're not going to do the other thing today?
5 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Dan Ruimy
It's going to take us to about twenty after, if you want to talk about your motion. You'd prefer to talk about the motion?
5 p.m.
Liberal
5 p.m.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
We'll split some time. I'll start.
I'd like to talk about incubators now. You mentioned some universities doing very well. You mentioned SFU and I think you also mentioned District 3. We're actually going to visit the District 3 incubator in a couple of months. I'd like you to elaborate a little bit on how that's worked in your different organizations.
Maybe we'll start with you, MaryLynn. Do you actually have one associated with—
5 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Georgian College
No. We hope that will be an investment as a result of the $2 billion you've set aside for infrastructure funding.
5 p.m.
Liberal
5 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Georgian College
They would be so much so that our county and the City of Barrie have put up a $10-million match-up. That's how critical it is to our economy.
5 p.m.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
So you see the value of getting something attached to your institution that could help?
5 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Georgian College
It would be so that ecosystem could begin creating that pipeline in which you can incubate something; you can test it; you can have an open space where different sectors come together. We don't have that throughout central Ontario.
5 p.m.
Liberal
5 p.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations and Canadian Partnerships, Colleges and Institutes Canada
I think you're going to see a host of incubator options and models being developed and in place already in the colleges and institutes across the country.
One particular example—I'm just coming back to the applied research piece—is that it's such an opportunity for students. You'll see a lot of applied research showcases in colleges, with year-end capstone projects. Very often those are linked to you having developed something, you having done something, and how you will now actually turn that into a business. That's being provided to them as part of their programs in many cases. Faculty have that experience of having run businesses themselves. They're entrepreneurs. They've been able to build that into their program.
5 p.m.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Your association covers both colleges and universities.