At its late February meeting, the Engineers Canada Board approved a new National Position Statement on the essential role that engineers play in increasing Canada’s productivity.
Productivity is the most important determinant of a country’s per capita income over the long term. Maximizing productivity across Canadian industries and public infrastructure is a critical factor in ensuring sustained economic growth, enhanced living standards, and improved international competitiveness. Yet countries that are increasingly productive are surpassing Canada on measures such as income per capita, innovation, supply chain logistics, and the quality of social programs. Falling behind on these and other matters greatly stunts Canada’s overall productivity growth and productivity levels, which consequently impacts Canada’s competitive workforce and national economy.
Engineers play a key role in enhancing the overall growth, productivity, and development of a country’s workforce and economy, as well as improving the quality of life for citizens. There is an important connection between a country’s engineering capacity and its overall productivity and economic development. One key area for increased productivity across Canada comes from investing in public infrastructure projects that substantially increase productivity to spark economic stimulus. With public infrastructure and technological advancements being a cornerstone of effective economic stimulus and productivity, it becomes vital that the federal government engage licensed professionals, including engineers, as economic recovery plans, which include plans for accelerating productivity, are implemented.
Given the importance of increasing productivity on a country’s economic performance, the National Position Statement makes five recommendations for the federal government. The federal government should:
- Create a plan to increase Canada’s productivity at a rate faster than Canada’s peers. It must do so if it is to at least maintain its citizens’ current standard of living.
- Change Canada’s regulatory framework to promote innovation and accelerating productivity.
- Increase productivity through the acceleration of projects promised under the Investing in Canada Plan and other federal-provincial legacy programs.
- Continue investment in research and development (R&D) and innovation in Canada, which will stimulate innovation leading to the creation of new goods and services, and labour and growth productivity.
- Continue collaboration with the engineering profession in supporting improvements in equity, diversity, and inclusion in the engineering profession.
Engineers Canada’s National Position Statements are consensus positions of the provincial and territorial engineering regulators on key issues that relate to the public interest. They are not only meant to provide information about the issue to members of the engineering profession, but are also meant to facilitate discussion with government and influence public policy.
Read the full National Position Statement on Engineers Canada’s website.
