Finance committee  We are very keen to interact with businesses. We know that our students, when they graduate, wish to be employed, so we have traditionally worked very closely with businesses, particularly in the extractive industries. We do think it's important, however, to recognize that as a university we do not exist to replace the training that must exist within businesses so that students can be certified on specialized equipment.

Finance committee  Yes, absolutely. In fact, the University of Saskatchewan ranks number two in the country in terms of the revenue we generate through our patents and intellectual property. That's because we have traditionally had a very strong relationship with the business community. We intend to continue to do that.

Finance committee  Yes, and in fact that was the nature of two of the recommendations I was trying to make. To attract the best and the brightest, we not only need the best facilities, but we need to know that those facilities have the operating funds to continue and funds to improve as technology improves.

Finance committee  I won't speak about the tax issue because I'm simply not qualified, but there is much we can be doing to make ourselves more visible nationally and internationally. One of the things that Canada has not done is create a federal science policy. If we had a federal science strategy that included what we were going to fund, how we were going to do it, and how we would make sure we were using all the facilities effectively and efficiently, and in that way attracting the best and the brightest to Canada, then that would really have a dramatic impact on what all of the research-intensive universities are doing.

Finance committee  You're absolutely right. Our aboriginal students at the University of Saskatchewan find they have the hardest time, not with their preparation for university academically but with the cultural dissonance they encounter when they suddenly arrive on a campus and there is no longer a majority aboriginal population.

Finance committee  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for letting me address your committee today. I am Ilene Busch-Vishniac, the president of the University of Saskatchewan. As one of the medical-doctoral, research-intensive universities in Canada, the U of S is extremely interested in the strategic and financial impacts of the next federal budget.