Thank you.
Before I begin my remarks, I would like to thank the committee for allowing me the opportunity to speak today, but more importantly, I want to thank all members of our government for the work they've done during this pandemic.
In addition to being a tech entrepreneur, I'm also the founder of Coding for Veterans, a not-for-profit organization. It is from both these perspectives that I'm testifying before you today. My testimony focuses on how Canada can leverage cybersecurity as a driver of economic activity and growth in defence of our economy. Like all Canadians, I'm concerned about economic recovery post-pandemic. COVID-19 has given us an opportunity to not just rebuild our economy, but to reimagine it and rebuild it better than it was before.
Working from home, online medical appointments, live video conferencing and online retail have changed our lives forever. All those sectors require a secure cyber environment in which to operate.
As background, Coding for Veterans is a tech industry-led initiative, in partnership with the University of Ottawa, that retrains military veterans for jobs in Canada's cybersecurity sector. It is a unique program that delivers curriculum 100% online with professors and provides globally recognized cyber industry accreditation.
My team has learned a tremendous amount related to retraining of individuals that I believe can be applied to many Canadians who are unemployed as a result of COVID-19. Not only has our program continued without interruption during this pandemic, it has actually grown. Pre-COVID-19, studies showed that Canada had over 25,000 unfilled cyber jobs, and demand has increased for cyber talent during this pandemic. As we were seeking placement for the most recent grads from our program, I was intrigued by the number of calls I received from Canada's financial institutions, defence contractors and others. I asked them, “When everyone is laying off, how is it that you guys and your companies are hiring?” The simple answer was, “We don't have enough talent.”
There are many lessons to be learned from COVID-19. The N95 mask and PPE shortage taught us that we can't count on other nations to come to our rescue. Another lesson we learned from COVID-19 is that Canada and the world were brought to their knees without one missile being launched or one foreign soldier invading our country. My fear is that while we're focused on pandemics at our front door, we will leave our side door unlocked and be vulnerable to cyber-attacks that will cripple our economy just as we're on the road to recovery.
Earlier, this committee heard testimony from Scott Jones, who's the head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. He and others stated that during the pandemic they have seen cyber-attacks continue and be directed out of universities and medical establishments with attempts to steal data. Mr. Jones also testified that the Government of Canada relies on partnering with the private sector to protect Canadian industry.
Here's the missing piece: Where are we going to find the talent to fill these jobs?
It's great that we have a plan, but without enough trained workers, how do we as a country defend ourselves? The most direct answer is that we need to train more cybersecurity workers.
The follow-up question is, how do we do this and how do we fund it?
For starters, you need a robust training framework. The Coding for Veterans program has a proven retraining template with cyber industry curriculum and certification. We have the capacity to expand our program and establish a separate cohort called “Cyber Skills for Canadians,” targeted specifically at retraining unemployed workers for jobs in cybersecurity.
How do we pay for this?
I can appreciate that the Canadian government has unprecedented fiscal challenges and is looking for out-of-the-box thinking. With this in mind, we propose that retraining people for cybersecurity jobs can be 100% funded by the industrial and technology benefits policy program, which already exists through ISED. This program states that for every defence contract awarded in Canada of over $100 million, an equivalent amount of money be injected into the Canadian economy by the winning bidder. Currently, government stats show that defence contractors owe $34.5 billion in outstanding obligations, with $2.6 billion of that yet to be identified and $850 million of that in arrears. If we can leverage just a fraction of the existing ITB program to fully fund cyber retraining, it will not cost the taxpayers of Canada one single cent, while creating thousands of cyber jobs.
In closing, I believe that we, as a nation, should be retraining our unemployed workers for jobs in Canada's cybersecurity industry. We can support the expansion of our digital economy by building up our cyber defences while at the same time filling thousands of jobs. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn a difficult chapter in our country's history into one of our shining moments.
Those are my introductory comments. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I would be pleased to answer your questions.