Professional Engineers Returning to Parliament Hill after Federal Election 2021

Canada’s federal election has come to an end, and Canadians have elected a Liberal minority government. No party was able to obtain the 170 seats required to secure a majority government.

Elections Canada reported the following provisional results:

Liberal Party – 159 seats

Conservative Party – 119 seats

Bloc Quebecois – 33 seats

New Democratic Party – 25 seats

Green Party – 2 seats

OSPE is pleased to inform the engineering community that the following four professional engineers will be returning to Parliament Hill:

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ONTARIO

QUEBEC

  • Marc Garneau, P.Eng. (Liberal Party, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount)

OSPE believes that having more elected engineers on Parliament Hill will ensure that the voice of the profession is amplified. Engineers are capable leaders that must share their expertise to ensure that sound policy solutions are developed and implemented in the province of Ontario and throughout Canada. OSPE looks forward to working with these and all elected Members of Parliament to ensure that the engineering expertise is at the forefront of evidence-based policy making.

OSPE would like to share some of our advocacy priorities once this new Parliament resumes its session.

Recommendations

Engineering Workforce

  1. Train engineers for the skills required to succeed in the energy efficiency and green building sector.
  1. Drive the transformation of engineering education.
  1. Invest in talent development, knowledge training, and supports for engineers in Ontario.
  1. Support organizations that implement inclusive design principles and the growth of a diverse workforce to enable economic equity and recovery in Canada. 

Sustainability

  1. Work with the provinces and municipalities to prioritize investment in sustainable infrastructure, including pre-design and design activities.
  1. Work with provincial and territorial governments towards a sustainable transition, by encouraging the use of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and emissions free technology.
  1. Invest in Ontario’s Mining Industry to ensure proper clean-up of Ontario’s orphaned and abandoned sites.
  1. Invest in Ontario’s Mining Infrastructure, including the Ring of Fire.
  1. Invest in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to create jobs in the nuclear energy industry and provide additional sources of low carbon electricity and heat.

Research and Innovation

  1. Support local manufacturing innovation and production.
  1. Create a dedicated fund to support Ontario businesses in Research and Development (R&D) activities with a strong focus on local commercialization, including development and protection of Intellectual Property (IP) for Ontario and Canada’s benefit.
  1. Support the generation, protection, and commercialization of intellectual property (IP) in small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

The following document provides several recommendations that OSPE has put forth to the federal government. We will continue to work with all levels of government to advance the interests of the engineering community.

What do you think about our recommendations? Did we miss any important issues? Let us know in the comments below, contact us directly at advocacy@ospe.on.ca, or if you’re an OSPE member head over to the  ENGage Forum and start a discussion there. 

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