Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would also like to thank the committee for its invitation.
My name is Samy-Jane Tremblay, and I'm the president of the Union étudiante du Québec. The UEQ represents more than 91,000 university students throughout Quebec, including more than 25,000 graduate students. The UEQ has a partnership with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. Together, they represent over 365,000 students across Canada. The UEQ and the alliance support the Support Our Science organization, which aims to promote greater funding for graduate students. On May 1, we participated in a march with underfunded students to support this cause.
As you know, there has been no investment in increased funding since 2003. However, research without students is simply impossible.
We are currently in a critical situation. Canada is the only G7 country to have reduced its investment in research and development over the past 20 years. However, other countries have recognized that this is a priority and have set ambitious research targets.
The Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System recently tabled a report—the Bouchard report—that stated that Germany plans to increase its research investment to 3.5% of GDP by 2025 and Finland, to 4% of GDP by 2030. Canada, on the other hand, is at 1.6% of its GDP. This is clearly insufficient to compete internationally. The Bouchard report clearly explains that research funding has not kept pace with the pressures of the last 20 years.
In addition to international competition, there is growth in the size and activity of the research system. According to the Bank of Canada, inflation has increased by 50.63% between 2003 and 2023, yet, the amount of scholarships hasn't increased since 2003, even though they should be indexed to the cost of living, as is the case in Australia. The number of scholarships should also be increased in order to better support the pool of young scientists that is indeed present throughout the country.
This is a serious matter. Canada is falling behind in research, science and innovation. It isn't a priority, and it should be. We're talking about the future of our country and the work that needs to be done to solve major societal challenges. By not investing in the next generation of scientists, Canada is encouraging a brain drain and losing great talent, and this, it must be remembered, in a context of a shortage of skilled labour.
To remedy the situation and to deal with the constant pressures we are currently experiencing, the solution is simple. The Bouchard report should be put into practice and massive investments should be made in research and development. To do this, we must not only increase the amount and number of scholarships for students, but also increase the grants that support a majority of graduate students.
Another issue that was exposed, this time by the 2017 Naylor Report, is that the length of current funding does not match the actual length of study. To give you an idea, federal granting agencies award one-year master's scholarships, while a master's degree takes at least two years to complete. At the doctoral level, students receive a three-year award, while a doctorate takes at least four years to complete. This is a problematic situation, because students are not funded at the end of the course, and they need it. At that point, students are going to have to find alternative sources of funding or delay graduation or even abandon their study and research project. By way of comparison, the Quebec granting agencies of the Fonds de recherche du Québec fund master's degrees for two years and PhDs for four years. We invite Canada to apply the same measure, which is much more realistic.
If we are talking about challenges that concern the student population, it's important that they be able to express their views on the decisions that are made. Currently, the three federal granting councils do not reserve any of their board seats for students, unlike in Quebec. Indeed, the boards of the Fonds de recherche du Québec and the student intersectoral committee of Rémi Quirion, Quebec's chief scientist, reserve seats for the student population to express their views. We therefore call on Canada to amend the legislation governing the three federal granting agencies to ensure that seats are allocated and reserved for the student population, thus allowing them to voice their concerns and express their views.
In closing, I want to remind you that the contributions of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are significant. The future of our country will depend on investments in research and development. To attract and retain the best talent, Canada must make this a priority, as other countries are doing.
Thank you. I am now ready for your questions and discussion.