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Developing, retaining, and maximizing human capital is a major challenge for every nation on Earth. It is certainly the case for Canada, and it is arguably more important today than ever before. We are a nation that is rich in many ways, but we are a small country in terms of population.
It is for this reason that we need to harness the enormous potential of all our citizens throughout their entire lives and to welcome other citizens from beyond our borders. Today there are several factors that complicate the situation.
The emerging world economies are increasingly focused on education and are building capacity at home; globalization has increased competitiveness for most post-secondary education; and the current economic slowdown presents challenges. Canada has some advantages.
We have a well-educated population, a strong system of universities, colleges and polytechnics, and investments made in post-secondary education, research and innovation during the past decade have positioned Canada well. T
he so-called "brain drain" of the 1990s has been largely reversed. Investments in our granting councils, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canada Research Chairs, Genome Canada and other organizations have enabled Canadian researchers to excel here at home.
They have also enabled us to repatriate many Canadian researchers who had gone elsewhere, and attracted researchers from other countries. However we face challenges on this front. At a time when the country needs stimulus and increased productivity, Budget 2009 received a thumbs-down from many in the research community. The granting councils (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC) are being forced into a "strategic review," which actually reduces their budgets, while organizations like Genome Canada face funding shortfalls, and much of the money for research is being "designated" by the government to be used for work that would be better determined by the research community itself.
These cutbacks follow the departure last year of Dr. Arthur Carty as national science adviser and the elimination of that position, a move that worried many in the scientific community. This is no time for a weakened commitment to research.
Barack Obama's inaugural address raised the expectations of many researchers and educators when he said: "We will restore science to its rightful place." The stimulus package recently passed by the United States Senate will boost research funding by more than $12 billion. The comparison is concerning to many in Canada who do not want to see a return to the days of the brain drain.
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Even organizations that are focused on researching and reporting on our education landscape are under the gun. The Canadian Council on Learning has been unable to secure confirmation that they will continue to be funded. Last week, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development, and the Status of Persons with Disabilities was told by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley that funding had been extended for a year, but two days later it was revealed that the funding had been "re-profiled," which apparently means that CCL can continue to work, but without further funding.
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Education is a lifelong process for all our citizens. As a nation, we must strive to do all that we can to ensure access to skills development for everyone. It is an argument validated from both a social justice and an economic point of view.
It would be an oversight not to mention how important early childhood education is in the development of our human capacity. Canada lags badly in this critical area. In fact, a recent UNICEF report card on child care for 2008 ranked Canada last among 25 developed nations in the provision of early learning and child care services. Any of us would be indignant if a child was refused entry to school because of lack of means.
Yet it happens all the time with children under six. We cannot seriously look at skills development and education in our country without addressing the need for a national early learning and child care system which is affordable, accessible, and high quality. Investing in education always pays off. As the world changes, we must recognize that success in the past is no promise of success in the future. We can always do better.
* Mike Savage is the Liberal critic for human resources and skills development, and for post-secondary education.
- reprinted from Embassy Magazine