Issue: Without re-investment by the federal government in its postsecondary institutions, Canada cannot achieve its vision of being one of the most innovative and skilled countries in the world.
Background: Accessible and high quality postsecondary education is vital to Canada’s economic, social and cultural development. The mandate of Canada’s colleges and institutes all share a common purpose to improve the economic and social well-being of their communities.
Postsecondary education enables the three themes the Prime Minister has articulated: strengthening the social foundations of Canadian life; building a twenty-first century economy; and ensuring a place of influence and pride for Canada in the world.
General funding of postsecondary education has not kept pace with enrolment growth, resulting in a dramatic rise in class sizes, the decline of libraries and other educational resources, the serious deterioration of campus infrastructure and in some cases the closure of small rural campuses.
No Canadians should be denied the opportunity to benefit from a college or university education because they cannot afford to attend, because there are no spaces available or because there are inadequate supports in place to help them complete their studies. Without additional support, there is a risk of denying individual Canadians, particularly those who are most vulnerable, the ability to achieve their full potential.
Approximately thirty-five to fifty percent of current skilled trades workers, engineers, technicians/technologists and scientists in Canada will be eligible to retire within the next decade, leaving employers with dramatic labour shortages. Some of these shortages can be resolved through the credentialing of foreign trained immigrants who are already in Canada as well as increasing the number of new immigrants with these skills.
Funds flow from the federal government to the provinces for post-secondary education as part of a lump sum called the Social Transfer. Education is a provincial jurisdiction but there are some financial commitments that the federal government has to help the provinces. The amount allocated to the province for postsecondary education, while driven by a formula to determine the amount to be sent, is not driven by any accountability when it comes to spending it provincially. In other words, there are formulae for these “social” programs that determine how much each province receives, but then the federal government transfers it as one lump sum to the province and the province can spend as it sees fit. This means it is difficult to know how much money comes to the provinces for postsecondary education. Currently, the provinces are not required to spend the formula amount on the sector in which it was generated. This leads to a concern that dollars generated for postsecondary education could be spent on secondary education, health, or any other sector of the provincial government’s choosing.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce urges the Government of Canada to:
1. Work with the provinces and territories to develop a set of principles or purposes to ensure funds are invested in post-secondary education in a transparent fashion while respecting the provinces’ need for flexibility in setting their own postsecondary education priorities.
2. Develop and fund a postsecondary education process model for the integration of immigrants that would encompass a comprehensive suite of programs and services including information access, assessment services, advising and counseling and education and training programs for immigrants which postsecondary institutions can follow and adapt when developing their own programs and services aimed at facilitating the integration of immigrants within their communities.