Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage: Progress Report 2009

People Advantage — Growing Canada's Base of Knowledge Workers

Talented, skilled and creative people bring innovation to life. For Canada to thrive in the global economy, we must build the best-educated, best-trained and most flexible workforce in the world. Canada must be a magnet for highly skilled people if we are to maintain the quality of life and strengthen the social foundations that each of us cherish.

The Government of Canada has introduced a variety of progressive measures to help Canadians participate fully in a knowledge-based economy and to draw top science and technology (S&T) and managerial talent to Canada from around the world. From investments in flagship scholarships to new skills training initiatives, the federal government is partnering with business and other levels of government to augment the opportunities for Canada's best and brightest to study and apply their skills to Canadian priorities in health, energy and the environment, and to make our economy grow.

The following sections outline progress made in creating a competitive labour market environment; developing the next generation of S&T workers; attracting the best minds from around the globe; expanding opportunities for Canadians in a changing economy; and fostering a strong S&T culture.

Creating a Competitive Labour Market Environment

Achieving global excellence starts with a strong and attractive labour market in which the very best will want to work. Canadian businesses, universities and research organizations need to cultivate and have access to the world's most talented people and their ideas — whether they originate here in Canada or on the other side of the globe.

Getting the Fundamentals Right — Reducing Taxes for Individuals

In keeping with this goal, the Government of Canada has moved decisively to reduce taxes on individuals. Actions taken by the Government of Canada since 2006, including those announced in Budget 2009, will reduce taxes on individuals by an estimated $160 billion over 2008–09 and the following five fiscal years. As a result of Budget 2009, Canadians can now earn more before paying personal income tax, and earn more at higher levels before facing higher personal income tax rates. Budget 2009 also affirmed that a key future priority is to make Canada's personal income tax system more competitive for highly skilled workers to better enable Canadian businesses to compete in a globalized marketplace.

Creating a More Competitive Immigration System

Talented, skilled, creative people are the most crucial element of a successful national economy.

The Government of Canada has taken steps to make Canada's immigration system more competitive and able to respond to the economy's dynamic and changing labour market needs. Many Canadian industries are facing skilled labour shortages, even in these tough economic times. Companies of all kinds are scouting the globe for expertise that can meet their needs.

To address this situation, the federal government has introduced new flexibility into Canada's immigration system to help foreign-trained workers stay in our country and succeed. These include:

• Streamlining the Temporary Foreign Worker program to reduce costly wait times and delays for companies bringing in foreign workers.
• Developing the new Canadian Experience Class to make it easier for skilled temporary foreign workers and students with Canadian credentials and work experience to stay in Canada as permanent residents. Workers and students who meet certain conditions can apply for permanent resident status from within Canada.
• Creating the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) to provide internationally trained individuals with foreign credentials recognition and labour market information they need, both overseas and in Canada, to help them better use their skills in the Canadian labour market. The FCRO also works with provinces, territories and stakeholders to strengthen foreign credential processes across Canada.
• Providing $50 million to support work with the provinces and territories to develop a common approach to foreign credential assessment and ensure better integration of immigrants into the Canadian labour force.

Developing the Next Generation of Science and Technology Workers

Canada has one of the most respected post-secondary education systems in the world. All Canadians enjoy the benefits of this strong foundation. As a country, we must build on this strength to create a strong People Advantage — ensuring that the next generation of Canadians has advanced skills in S&T and business to spark innovation and sustainable growth to the benefit of all Canadians.

Investments in Universities and Colleges

Post-secondary institutes are critical in providing Canadians with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the labour market.

In 2008–09, the Government of Canada provided $9.7 billion in support for post-secondary education. This includes an $800-million increase to the Canada Social Transfer (CST), bringing the total CST funding to provinces and territories for post-secondary education up to $3.2 billion. These new funds give provinces and territories the increased resources they require to maintain and strengthen Canada's universities and colleges. This funding helps ensure that Canada's post-secondary system can meet the needs of Canadians and contribute to Canada's economic and social success. Federal investments through the CST will continue to grow in the future, with planned increases of 3 percent each year.

Improving Accessibility — Grants and Loans

Financing the costs of education is an important consideration for today's families and students. The Government of Canada has been hard at work with its colleagues in the provinces and territories to modernize the financial support system for Canadians who choose to pursue a college or university education.

A new, consolidated Canada Student Grant program will channel increasing financial support to Canadian students. Starting in the fall of 2009, some 245 000 college and undergraduate students will start to benefit from grants under the program. Currently valued at $350 million, this initiative will receive additional funding to reach $430 million by 2012–13.

The Government of Canada has also supported new improvements to the Canada Student Loans program. With $123 million in new funding for four years starting in 2009–10, the Government of Canada and participating provinces and territories plan to modernize and simplify the program's loans process. Changes to the program will make it easier for students to access financial assistance and to manage their loans.³

Attracting the Best Minds from around the Globe

All countries compete to attract and keep the top students in the world. And, in the new global economy, that race is intensifying. In the past two years, the Government of Canada has taken unprecedented steps to make Canada one of the most attractive places for the world's best students to study. These initiatives will help foster global excellence in research and strengthen Canada's ties to the global supply of talent and ideas.

Generating Excellence — The World's Best Scholarships and Research Chairs

The first of these prestigious programs — the new Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program — will support 500 Canadian and international doctoral students each year with three-year scholarships valued at up to $50 000 per year. Launched in September 2008, these awards are expected to attract and support world-class doctoral students who demonstrate a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies and strong leadership skills.

A second headliner — the Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) program — is another major investment in branding Canada's Knowledge and People Advantages. Under the program, universities will receive up to $10 million over seven years to support each of the 20 CERC holders and their research teams in establishing ambitious research programs at Canadian universities. In April 2009, the Minister of Industry announced the final selection of 40 proposals to move forward to the next phase of the competition.

This exciting new program has already won global attention and promises to attract leading academic powerhouses and graduate students from around the world, and to retain Canada's best who might otherwise have been lured away. Once the CERCs are in place, these researchers will bring the influence of their scientific insights, teaching abilities and world-class research networks to Canada's campuses — seeding excellence among countless students and the businesses that work alongside them.

Expanding the Canada Graduate Scholarships

The Government of Canada's investment in Canada's post-secondary education goes further. It has also boosted funding for the Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) program — a key source of support for Canada's most promising graduate students in all disciplines.

The CGS program was expanded through Budget 2007, which provided funding to support an additional 1000 new scholarships each year. By 2009, the total number of scholarships awarded under the program should reach 5000. In addition, 250 new CGS–Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements per year will be available to Canadian CGS recipients to pursue one semester of foreign studies and be exposed to the latest ideas and innovations the world has to offer in their field of study.

Budget 2009 added $87.5 million over three years to temporarily expand the CGS program. This increased funding will help students deepen their skills through further graduate study at a time when they face a weakening labour market. Starting in 2009, these funds will provide for an additional 500 doctoral scholarships, valued at $35 000 each per year, and for a further 2000 master's scholarships, valued at $17 500 per year.

Expanding Opportunities for Canadians in a Changing Economy

Being competitive in the modern economy means having a labour force with the skills and training to adapt to a changing global market. Connecting talented, creative and skilled people with outstanding training opportunities for knowledge-based employment is critical for our economy to prosper and Canadian workers to find the jobs they want.

New Skills Training Opportunities for Canadians

Following through on its Advantage Canada commitments, the Government of Canada is investing $500 million annually over the next six years, beginning in 2008–09, in a series of new Labour Market Agreements (LMAs) with the provinces and territories. These agreements will help Canadians to reach their full skills and employment potential, and will raise the productivity of Canadian business.

Resources are allocated to the provinces and territories on a per capita basis and will give each province or territory the flexibility to focus on job training programs and employment supports that will meet the local and regional needs of employers and workers alike. These supports will be targeted to persons not eligible for assistance under Employment Insurance (EI) Part II, including immigrants and other new labour market entrants. A robust accountability framework accompanies each LMA to ensure effective planning, delivery and review of results.

In addition, through Budget 2009, the Government of Canada committed $250 million annually over two years for the Strategic Training and Transition Fund. The fund will be administered through LMAs with provinces and territories and will provide access to training and other assistance to individuals, whether or not they qualify for EI.

Industrial Research and Development Internships

Hands-on training and business experience is also vital for today's university and college graduates. Budgets 2007 and 2009 invested over $25.5 million in the new Industrial Research and Development Internships (IRDI) program to give graduates just this kind of opportunity. Launched in 2008–09, the IRDI creates internships with participating businesses for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. With the support of their sponsors, interns will be able to take the expertise and knowledge they acquired at university and apply it to a business environment to address a business research need.

In addition, the National Research Council Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) provides companies with support to hire recent graduates from colleges and universities for up to one year to work on innovative business strategies and technology-related projects. Budget 2009 provided $200 million over two years, starting in 2009–10, to NRC-IRAP to temporarily expand its initiatives, including $30 million to help companies hire over 1000 new post-secondary graduates.

Fostering a Strong Science and Technology Culture

The S&T Strategy identified the need for Canadians and businesses to better understand the way S&T and innovation increasingly help drive our economy and improve our quality of life. A strong S&T culture will encourage the next generation of Canadians to pursue knowledge-based careers and business opportunities.

Innovative Science Outreach

More and more Government of Canada departments and agencies are coming up with innovative ideas to generate public excitement in S&T. National Science and Technology Week — usually held each year in October and spearheaded by Natural Resources Canada — is a truly national celebration that brings together partners from across government, industry and academia to offer a variety of exciting events to raise awareness among young people about careers in S&T. From Iqaluit to Quebec, from Vancouver to the East Coast, students and teachers join in hands-on science challenges and fun-filled tours, seminars and competitions.

This spirit of federal S&T collaboration is exemplified by science.gc.ca, the Government of Canada's official website for S&T information. The site focuses on creating interest and excitement in Canadian S&T through outreach initiatives such as the Great Canadian Science Race, which reached over 325 000 children and 14 000 teachers across the country. The website science.gc.ca continues to grow in popularity, seeing a 32-percent rise in unique visitors in 2008.

Another exciting initiative is the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's (CIHR's) new Synapse Youth Connection. Some 4000 CIHR-funded researchers, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are voluntarily mentoring youth to expose them to their passion about careers in health. In its first year alone, the program reached more than 20 000 students directly and more than another 26 000 indirectly.

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³ Student financial assistance in Canada is delivered through partnerships between the Government of Canada and participating provinces and territories. Quebec, Northwest Territories and Nunavut operate independent financial assistance programs and receive payments in lieu of direct participation.