Marcel Turcot

Advocacy regarding the Government of Canada’s defence and research agenda, including policies, programs and regulations developed by the Department of National Defence, Defence Research and Development Canada and other relevant departments and agencies that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary education sector. Advocacy regarding the Government of Canada’s innovation and economic development agenda, including policies, programs and regulations developed by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and other relevant departments and agencies that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary education sector. Advocacy regarding the Government of Canada’s health research and life sciences agenda, including policies, programs and regulations developed by Health Canada and other relevant departments and agencies that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary education sector. Advocacy regarding immigration policies, programs and regulations related to international students, faculty, and highly qualified research personnel developed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and other relevant departments and agencies that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary education sector. Advocacy regarding housing strategy issues, policies and programs that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary education sector. Advocacy regarding Government of Canada training, employment and skills policies or programs, developed by Employment and Social Development Canada and other relevant departments and agencies, that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary education sector with respect to their research and education activities. Advocacy regarding Canada’s research and development agenda, including research funding administered through the granting agencies and other federal departments and agencies, program design, and regulatory concerns related to research, including research security. Advocacy to ensure that proposals to develop or amend federal legislation, regulations, policies or programs that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary system reflect the needs of universities and support research and education activities, including communication with public office holders in the House of Commons of Canada, the Senate of Canada and relevant departments and agencies. Activities related to the operation of U15 digital initiatives including Cognit.ca and SecureScholar.

Advocate for place-based solutions to Canada’s biggest challenges, which support the region-specific mandates of public colleges and ensure local training needs are considered in policy development. Increase support to developing countries and other partner countries to build technical and vocational training capacity, strengthen skills development and education systems, and enhance Canada’s global education brand. Advocate for support for college-led research as a core component of federal research and innovation funding and policy. Discuss how colleges can support immigration programs, such as foreign credential recognition or international students, to meet Canada’s labour market needs, and share with officials impacts of policy changes on the college sector. Share with officials how colleges can support Canada’s training and workforce development needs to meet Canada’s biggest challenges. Share with officials the role of colleges and institutes in delivering high quality education for Canadians, and ensuring access to education for Canadians. Advance reconciliation through partnerships with Canada’s public colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and Indigenous Institutes of Education. Promote the role and expertise of colleges in deepening Canada’s relationships with other countries. Promote the value of educational fair dealing in supporting colleges and institutes in their mandate to provide advanced skills and to enable them to better respond to the skills shortage. Increase investments and support to address colleges’ infrastructure needs to increase Canada’s training space and access in key high-demand fields that align with federal priority areas. Enable post-secondary institutions to obtain grants and loans to develop student housing projects, with additional supports for housing that supports students from vulnerable populations. Ensure Canada’s colleges and institutes have the necessary federal support to provide high-quality training for future healthcare professionals. Ensure the specific needs of institutions, including French institutions and those in minority linguistic communities, are taken into account when federal policies and programs are designed and delivered.

Tax policy affecting philanthropy, small business innovation and post-secondary institutions; tax benefits and credits for apprentices; tax benefits and credits for employers. Participate in all relevant policy discussions and consultations about academic research funding, business innovation and applied research; how businesses, non-profits and other enterprises benefit from innovation supports from academic institutions/polytechnics. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, College and Community Innovation Program; tri-council structure and funding; eligibility of polytechnics and colleges for research funding and research support; Horizon Europe and opportunities for polytechnics to engage in international research partnerships. Highly skilled workforce; in-demand occupations. Supports, programs and policies designed to boost innovation and productivity; technology adoption; respond to skills needs; polytechnics and colleges as innovation intermediaries. Student housing; funding to support equipment purchase for training in high-demand fields, infrastructure programs geared to the post-secondary sector. Respond to consultations and advocate for change to international student policy; consider how polytechnics/colleges support inward and outward student mobility; consider international best practices for workforce development and applied research; better integration of newcomers through credential recognition, prior learning recognition and upskilling. Participate in all relevant policy discussions about skills training and work-integrated learning; upskilling and reskilling policies, programs and funding; apprenticeship training, attraction, retention and completion, including on federal projects. Adequate financial support for learners through the Canada Student Loan Program and other student-centered programs; Edu-Canada marketing and branding initiatives. Participate in all relevant policy discussions and consultations related to productivity, business innovation, technology adoption and artificial intelligence. Seeking funding for the activities of polytechnics and colleges in areas including workforce development, applied research and infrastructure/equipment. Canada Foundation for Innovation - Seek ongoing infrastructure support for the applied research conducted by colleges and Polytechnics.

Discussions about financial sustainability measures for universities. Discussions about shared priorities related to universities including workforce, talent, and employment. Discussions on the Canada-India Talent and Innovation Strategy. Government of Canada - Universities Working Group roundtable discussion on research security. Discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) funding as it relates to universities. Student housing and community enabling campus infrastructure programs. Working group meeting to discuss academic contributions to the Defence Industrial Strategy. Immigration policies and programs related to international students and affecting universities. Discussions of education and international relations opportunities. Engaging in discussions on research priorities for Canadian universities. Discussions about research policy and programs, Canada-US relations, and their impacts on the post-secondary sector Discussions about international students, the workforce, and the benefits of a university degree. Discussions about the Global Excellence Initiative (GEI) and future funding commitments. Meeting to discuss science policy and programs, impact of Canada-US relations Recent policy changes and development of other policy tools including the Recognized Institutions Framework.

CCA was established by the federal government in 2005 to provide assessments of evidence on policy priorities important to the Government of Canada and Canadians. CCA's interactions with federal departments and agencies are focused on developing interest in new assessment projects which are typically funded through a program or grant. Assessments are carried out by expert panels and can be on any topic in areas of health, environment, energy and society, or S&T and innovation.

Strengthening Canada’s health workforce including promoting health workforce safety. Advancing adoption of AI in the healthcare and health research sectors. Improving Canada’s physical and digital infrastructure for both health research and healthcare delivery. Federal role in the health system as it relates to funding, the use of federal spending power, and pan-Canadian priorities, including in the areas of aging, older adult care, child and youth health, mental health and substance use, palliative care, Indigenous health, public health, and data. Advancing Canada’s health research and innovation agenda as it relates to funding, policy and program design, and regulatory matters, including in the areas of clinical trials and development of innovative medical treatments.

Discussions with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and other relevant departments and agencies regarding the role of universities in supporting federal innovation initiatives, policies and programs. Advocacy to secure federal support to develop and upgrade university infrastructure, including but not limited to research and learning facilities, digital infrastructure, and transit infrastructure. Advocacy to increase support for university research, including research funding and granting programs administered by the tri-agencies (SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR) and other departments and agencies. Advocacy to improve immigration policies and programs for university students, faculty and staff. Advocacy to ensure that proposals to develop or amend federal legislation, regulations, policies or programs that directly or indirectly impact the post-secondary system reflect the needs of universities and support our research and education mission. Advocacy to enhance support for university research mobilization and commercialization activities. Advocacy to enhance student supports, including but not limited to Canada Student Grants and Loans, the Canada Graduate Scholarship Program, supports for Indigenous students, and work-integrated learning programs.

Discussions regarding agri-food security research and infrastructure in relation to the National Food Security Strategy, national security and emergency preparedness. Policy development and funding for knowledge transfer and the commercialization of research through the FedDev program and investments in partnerships with the University of Guelph. Policy, programs and investments in science and technology research and innovation. Increased funding and program design for various programs administered by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Canada Foundation for Innovation. Funding for youth mental health. Maintaining and enhancing federal student assistance and financial support programs. Funding to support university infrastructure, student housing, and other capital projects. Discussions regarding international education and policy changes to immigration—including academic and international student visa processes—that impact the University’s students, faculty, and staff. Support for post-secondary education, research, innovation and science in the budget. Discussions regarding agriculture policy, talent development, innovation and research, technologies and infrastructure.

Raising awareness about York University's strengths in research, teaching, and scholarship and differentiation among post-secondary institutions in Canada Seeking to raise awareness about York University’s strengths in the health sector, as well as the York University School of Medicine. Seeking funding from the federal government for an increased federal investment in Canada Graduate Scholarships Seeking funding from federal government for investment in regional development projects Inquire on the status of grants and to propose a wide variety of academic research projects to Federal Research Granting Councils (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR)- Advocating for continued and increased granting council funding. Immigration policy related to students Advocating for institutional infrastructure investments from various federal programs. Advocating for increases in funding for research and innovation, as well as funding to the Indirect Costs Program of SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR Advocating for increased investment in student assistance with the Canada Student Loan Program.