AUCC submits pre-budget brief to federal Finance Minister

Read the pre-budget brief to Minister Jim Flaherty

Ottawa, January 5, 2009 – Investing in university infrastructure would make an important contribution to job creation in many communities across Canada, according to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

The AUCC has submitted a brief to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty advising that investments in improving university infrastructure and supporting university research would act as an economic stimulus for dozens of Canadian communities and ensure longer-term knowledge and entrepreneurial advantages for Canada. The brief noted that AUCC member institutions have a physical presence in more than 80 communities across the country.

“In these difficult economic conditions, the federal government needs to maintain its commitment to enhance Canada’s competitiveness in the world,” says AUCC President and CEO Claire Morris. “Canada’s universities have declared their willingness to participate in stimulating the economy through infrastructure projects. We can also continue to play an important role in training the creative knowledge workers needed to find solutions to underlying problems of the current economic crisis and position Canada for a strong economic recovery.”

AUCC recommends a targeted university infrastructure initiative that could be complementary to the existing federal Building Canada Fund. Many universities have buildings constructed in the 1960s and 1970s or earlier. These facilities are in need of at least $5 billion in maintenance and renewal work to bring them to a standard to meet today’s research and teaching needs.

The Association also recommends that the federal government maintain its investment in university research to support Canada’s longer-term knowledge and people advantage. Institutional support for researchers, such as high performance computing and equipment technicians, has been partially funded through the federal Indirect Costs Program since 2001 and has been vital to the development of a strong domestic research capacity. AUCC urges that this kind of support be sustained through the economic downturn to help ensure the competitiveness of Canada’s university research effort when the country emerges from the current economic crisis.

AUCC is the national voice for Canada’s universities. It represents 94 Canadian public and private not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges.

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For more information contact:

Leslie Cole
Communications Officer
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada