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Pre-budget 2020 submission: Investing in people, research and innovation

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August 02, 2019

Four people standing on the balcony of a building with a rooftop covered entirely in solar panels.

Canada’s universities are centres of ground-breaking research and innovation that transforms lives, strengthens communities and provides solutions to climate change and the most pressing global challenges. They also develop highly qualified researchers and leaders who will ensure Canada thrives in a knowledge-based economy increasingly disrupted by technology and global competition. At the same time, they are adopting new technologies, building and refurbishing research infrastructure, and reducing their carbon footprint.

To galvanize rapid progress against climate change, Universities Canada recommends investment in five pivotal areas:

International research collaboration
Greening research infrastructure
Knowledge transfer
University cybersecurity
Indigenous student access and success

Recommendation 1:

Expand investments in international research collaboration to ensure Canada can fully participate in world-leading, interdisciplinary, international research to address climate change and other pressing global issues.

Recommendation 2:

Reinvest in state-of-the-art, green postsecondary infrastructure to reduce campus carbon footprint, support world-class research and provide spaces that prepare students for the jobs of the future.

Recommendation 3:

Invest in a new knowledge mobilization fund to increase the impact of university research in driving Canada’s economic, climate and social priorities.

Recommendation 4:

Invest in university cybersecurity to ensure that, as we share research expertise and discoveries with the world, our data and intellectual property are adequately secured.

Recommendation 5:

Enhance Indigenous student access and success at university through:

increased direct student financial support for First Nations, Inuit and Métis learners – including urban Indigenous learners;
increased funding for Indigenous research; and
funding for wrap-around programs and supports.