Open letter to party leaders: let's talk education and research

OTTAWA, June 10, 2004 – University leaders are calling on the leaders of the four main federal political parties to highlight the role that higher education and university research play in building a prosperous, healthy and forward-looking country.
The call comes in an open letter delivered to the party leaders today by the board of directors and standing committee chairs of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. The signatories represent universities in every region of the country. AUCC is the national organization representing Canada’s 93 public and private not-for-profit university and university-degree level colleges.

“ The key to a healthy, productive and innovative society is a well-educated population,” reads the letter. “Access to a high-quality, internationally relevant education fuelled by first-class research is central to the prosperity and quality of life of Canadians in the 21st century. Universities contribute to every part of our society through the knowledge and skills they instill in their graduates and through the ideas and innovations that they create from their scholarly and research activities.”

Claire Morris, president of AUCC, stresses that for universities to maximize their contributions to Canadian society, “they must have available to them resources for education and research which are competitive with those available to their counterparts in Western Europe, Asia and the United States.”

The university heads look to each party leader to engage Canadians in a serious discussion about the role of higher education and university research in building the kind of country Canadians desire. They urge the party leaders to share their perspectives on this issue so that voters can make informed choices on Canada’s future on June 28.

For a full text of the letter, visit http://www.aucc.ca/federal_election/election_campaign/letter_e.html.

The letter is signed by:

• Peter MacKinnon, President, University of Saskatchewan and Chair, Board of Directors,
  Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
• Robert Lacroix, Rector, Université de Montréal and Past Chair, Board of Directors, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
• Claire M. Morris, President and CEO, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
• David Turpin, President, University of Victoria
• Martha Piper, President, University of British Columbia
• Harvey Weingarten, President, University of Calgary
• David T. Barnard, President, University of Regina
• Robert Birgeneau, President, University of Toronto
• Bonnie Patterson, President, Trent University
• Richard Van Loon, President, Carleton University
• David Atkinson, President, Brock University
• Frederick Lowy, Rector, Concordia University
• Michel Belley, Rector, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
• Yvon Fontaine, Rector, Université de Moncton
• Wade MacLauchlan, President, University of Prince Edward Island
• Axel Meisen, President, Memorial University of Newfoundland