Knowledge infrastructure — an investment with solid returns

This op-ed from AUCC Chairman, Tom Traves, was published in the Hill Times on April 6, 2009.

By Tom Traves
President of Dalhousie University, Halifax
Chair of the Board of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

Since the federal Minister of Finance presented his budget on January 27, far too little attention has been paid to the extraordinary infrastructure investments in postsecondary education institutions and to the enhancement of funding to the Canada Foundation for Innovation, responsible for so much of the leading edge research infrastructure in the country.

The university community has welcomed the substantial infusion of $2 billion from the recently announced federal budget into infrastructure on university and college campuses across the country as an investment in knowledge. These funds will be used to deal with a major backlog in maintenance especially in the many university buildings that were constructed in the 1960s or ‘70s. Many are now overdue for new roofs and windows, electrical systems and heating plants, all of which will contribute to the development of green technologies and environmental sustainability.

Another $750 million is being targeted specifically to research infrastructure through the Canada Foundation for Innovation. This investment in knowledge infrastructure will make a major difference in the research capacity on university campuses and will contribute to Canadian universities’ ability to develop the innovative products and ideas that will help retool the nation’s economy and address pressing social issues.

Together these two major investments are significant and will have long-term benefits in advancing Canada’s research and innovation agenda.

While some private money has been available in recent years to construct new buildings bearing sponsors’ names, maintenance of existing university infrastructure in all provinces has been deferred for far too long. In Nova Scotia alone, we estimate there is $540 million in deferred maintenance to be done at universities. Across Canada more than $5 billion of deferred maintenance has been identified. These projects include undertakings as basic as fixing plumbing systems and as vital as renewing mission critical laboratories to help train the researchers of tomorrow. By paring down the list to one high-priority item per campus, Nova Scotia universities have identified $85 million of projects that are ready to go.

At Dalhousie University, we have plans for a $19-million retrofit of our Life Sciences Building that may qualify under this new funding. It will not only save the university more than $1 million a year in energy costs, but it will also offer state-of-the-art labs and classrooms to the 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all parts of Canada who attend our institution.

Universities right across Canada have done similar assessments and have identified high-priority renewal projects that can get underway in the coming year.

These projects will create immediate construction, project management and renovation jobs in the more than 80 communities that have universities across the country. The economic impact of $500 million of infrastructure work in Nova Scotia alone has been estimated to be more than 6,400 jobs. Extrapolating for the total government investment in university infrastructure (including provincial matching funds), this could create as many as 35,000 jobs.

Many of these projects can also contribute to the development of smart and green technologies by retrofitting university buildings to meet the latest environmental standards. This will stimulate development of cutting-edge industries that could invigorate Canada’s long-term economic development.

It is important to recognize that investment in our knowledge infrastructure will help deliver the economic stimulus needed at this time and contribute to sustainable growth in Canada’s economy. For this reason, we applaud the support of the federal and provincial governments that invest in this initiative.