SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 197 - May/15/23

Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

May/15/23 7:04:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this adjournment debate arises from a question I asked the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry on May 1. On that day, as I was asking the question, on the lawn of Parliament Hill, there was a crowd of young researchers from Ottawa universities demanding to be heard by the government. They were part of a cross-country demonstration that day that involved nearly 10,000 graduate students, post-docs, faculty and supporters. They had walked out of 46 institutions across Canada. Their question for the government was simply this: Why are grad students are getting paid the same amount today as they were being paid 20 years ago? Their wages, which come in the form of federal scholarships and fellowships, cover the full-time work they perform doing their research, and that work is the backbone of our university research in Canada. These are scholarships, so these are not average students, but our best and brightest, yet the federal government pays them below minimum wage. They are forced to live below the poverty line. Master scholarships have been pegged at $17,500 per year for 20 years. Ph.D. students get a bit more at $21,000. Therefore, my question for the minister is this: Why have these scholarship amounts not changed since 2003? Last week, at the Standing Committee on Science and Research, we were studying the same question. One of the witnesses was Sarah Laframboise, a Ph.D. student from the University of Ottawa, who had organized the May 1 walkout. She had appeared before our committee exactly one year ago on the same subject. This time, and I am quoting from the blues, she stated, “It is frustrating, however, that in the last year since my appearance there has been no action by our government to solve these problems. During this time, we have 7,000 scientists and 40 scientific associations sign an open letter. We had 3,500 signatures on a petition...delivered to the House of Commons. We rallied on Parliament Hill in August. We spoke to MPs, ministers, media and the public about our cause, and sent over 2,000 emails to our MPs. But this wasn't enough. Budget 2023 contained no new funding for graduate students and post-docs.” Also testifying was Dr. Maydianne Andrade, a professor of biology at the University of Toronto. She said, and I am again quoting from the blues, “Our current system is a massive filter. It is a filter that is filtering out people as a function of their finances, not as a function of their excellence, not as a function of the likelihood that they might be the next Canadian Nobel prize [winner]. “We are filtering out people who can't take the mental load of living in poverty, those who don't have credit ratings that allow them to take out loans, those who are unable to manage incredibly challenging research agendas while holding down several jobs. “We are filtering out mature students who have dependents, and we're filtering out anyone whose family can't help support them through this without massive debt.” The science and research committee recommended last year that these scholarship amounts be increased. We have the advisory panel report on the federal research support system, headed by Dr. Frédéric Bouchard, and commissioned by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry himself, recommending that these scholarship and fellowship amounts be increased and indexed to inflation. I spoke with Dr. Bouchard recently, and he was mystified as to why these recommendations had not been followed. Therefore, I will repeat my question: When will this be fixed? When will we start paying our young researchers a living wage so they will stay in Canada, where we need them to be, instead of leaving for any number of countries that would happily pay them twice as much as they receive here?

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Context: House Hansard - 197 - May/15/23

Mr. Andy Fillmore (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

May/15/23 7:08:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond to the comments made by the hon. member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay regarding federal investments in science for our graduate students, scientists and researchers. Canada is a leader in science and research, and the government is committed to ensuring that this continues. Every day, Canadian researchers stand at the forefront of new scientific discoveries and research breakthroughs, and the Government of Canada has continued to invest in Canadian researchers, the key drivers of innovation who are helping to build a healthier and more prosperous future for us all. Since 2016, Canada has committed more than $16 billion to support the valuable contributions that scientists and researchers make to the health, well-being and prosperity of all Canadians. Enhancing the opportunities available to researchers has been a priority that the government has backed up with significant investments in successive budgets. In terms of targeted investments to support students and post-doctoral fellows, the government recognizes the critical role that federal scholarships and fellowships play in nurturing and sustaining Canada's top talent through support for career progression and increased financial security and independence. Budget 2019 provided $114 million over five years, with $26.5 million per year ongoing, to create more than 500 master's level scholarship awards annually and 167 more three-year doctoral scholarship awards annually through the Canada graduate scholarships program. That same budget, budget 2019, also invested $37.4 million over five years and $8.6 million ongoing to expand parental leave coverage from six months to 12 months for students and post-doctoral fellows to help young researchers better balance work and family. Looking ahead, to deliver an equitable, accessible and effective suite of scholarships and fellowships, the Government of Canada continues its work to promote equity, diversity and inclusion. Budget 2019 invested in bursaries and scholarships for first nations, Inuit and Métis students through a $9-million investment in lndspire, while the granting agencies, the tri-agency, have partnered with indigenous peoples to develop a national research program to advance reconciliation. Furthermore, through Budget 2022, we invested $40.9 million to support targeted scholarships and fellowships for Black student researchers. Looking forward now, the Government of Canada remains committed to supporting a strong federal system that fosters new ideas, breakthroughs and advancements. To cement Canada's leadership position on the world stage, our research support system must meet the needs of today's research, which is increasingly complex, collaborative, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and international. To these ends, the government recognizes the importance of continued evaluation of and investment in Canada's science and research ecosystem. The government welcomes the advisory panel on the federal research support system's report, the Bouchard report. The government is carefully reviewing the findings and recommendations and taking them under consideration. As we advance efforts to support the research ecosystem and Canada's top talent, the government understands it is important to provide a research environment that is supportive of Canada's top talent and to promote science in this country.

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Context: House Hansard - 197 - May/15/23

Mr. Andy Fillmore

May/15/23 7:13:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to assure my colleague that the government has heard the calls from the research community to increase the value of the scholarships and fellowships, as I have heard them, and I will continue to work with governments, the federal granting agencies and the research community to explore ways to support our next generation of researchers and top talent. The Government of Canada recognizes that for Canada to achieve its full potential and for Canadians to achieve their full potential, support for science and research must respond to the evolving needs of our science and research ecosystem.

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