Québec City, August 31, 2005 — In the wake of the conclusions reached by the Council of the Federation at this year’s meeting, which ran from August 10 to 12, Québec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports Jean-Marc Fournier set out today on a tour of the provinces and territories to consult, along with his counterparts, issues and challenges associated with postsecondary education and training in their respective provinces. The tour began by joining the Atlantic ministers of education and training at the meeting of the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training today in Prince Edward Island.

As Chair of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), Mr. Fournier discussed with the members of the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training the priorities of each province. Mr. Fournier stated “the capacity of the provinces’ and territories’ postsecondary education systems to meet the challenges of a knowledge-based economy remains the key concern of the education ministers.”

This consultation process deals with the day-to-day challenges currently encountered in postsecondary education and training due to the lack of resources in the provincial and territorial economies. Thus, the demand for skills in leading-edge industries will continue to grow in all sectors, requiring that we produce more graduates.

By way of example, and to illustrate the challenges facing systems of higher education, one could point to the rising need for new graduates in the area of physical rehabilitation in Québec. According to the Minister, “the universities are unable to train sufficient numbers of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists because they lack the funds needed for more effective management of training periods in the workplace.”

The Atlantic ministers of education and training shared their regional postsecondary and training priorities with their Quebec counterpart. The Atlantic ministers noted they have been working together for some time on four areas: infrastructure and deferred maintenance, the building of research capacity, adult literacy, and skills development.

The Atlantic ministers, who cooperate through the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training, also emphasized that Atlantic Canada has unique challenges that need to be recognized in any debate on federal funding transfers.

The Minister of Education of Newfoundland and Labrador, Tom Hedderson, has stated that “postsecondary education is of vital importance for the social and economic development of our province and we want to see as many students as possible participating in postsecondary education. Our development requires that our work force be ready and able to respond to the changing needs of our labour market and postsecondary education is key to this success."

According to New Brunswick Minister of Education Madeleine Dubé and her colleague, Minister of Training and Employment Development, Margaret-Ann Blaney, “the New Brunswick government recognizes that the single most important factor in achieving prosperity is the quality of our work force. Our government is committed to building an educated, well-trained, skilled and adaptable labour force to lead the province to a more prosperous future. Economic development indicators predict that the needs for a qualified work force will not be met without a significant reinvestment in postsecondary education.”

Prince Edward Island Education Minister Mildred Dover has observed that, “our social and economic future depends heavily on our ability to retain young people in our province. Strong and vibrant postsecondary institutions help us to meet this challenge. Over the past few years, we have made progress together as federal, provincial and territorial governments to increase funding for health care. We look forward now to a new education partnership that will result in more educational opportunities for our young people and a more skilled and educated work force in Atlantic Canada.”

Jamie Muir, Nova Scotia Minister of Education, stated that “the government of the province of Nova Scotia is concerned with the cost and quality of postsecondary education. The premiers’ initiative to involve the federal government in the funding of postsecondary education in Canada will hopefully contribute to maintaining a quality system that is more affordable and accessible.”

In conclusion, Mr. Fournier remarked, “my colleagues and I are convinced that an adequate level of funding would make it possible to solve the concrete problems that have arisen in our provinces’ systems of higher education, while contributing to the pan-Canadian objectives of economic prosperity, innovation and competency development.”

The ministers all agree that a collaborative approach by the provinces, territories and federal government is key to success in addressing challenges of post-secondary education.

This tour by the Québec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports is taking place in preparation for the meeting of the provincial and territorial ministers of education, labour and finance planned for early October by the Council of the Federation to discuss matters pertaining to the funding of postsecondary education and training.

At the August 12 Banff meeting, the Council of the Federation also agreed to hold a Summit on Postsecondary Education and Training with a view to paving the way for a future in which Canada continues to be competitive in the global economy.

Source:

Stéphane Gosselin
Press attaché to the Minister
of Education, Recreation and Sports
(418) 644-0664