87th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC)

TORONTO, March 8, 2005 - Canada’s ministers of education today approved the implementation of three action plans to address their priorities in the areas of Aboriginal education, literacy, and postsecondary capacity.

“Provinces and territories will work together to advance these priorities and we will engage the federal government as required,” said the Honourable Madeleine Dubé, Minister of Education for New Brunswick. Minister Dubé was the spokesperson for the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) in the absence of the Council’s new Chair, the Honourable Jean-Marc Fournier, Quebec’s Minister of Education, Recreation and Sport, who was attending the opening of the provincial legislature in Quebec City.

Highlights of the action plans include the following:

   
• Collaboration with local Aboriginal representatives, education stakeholders, and the federal government to identify and share best practices in Aborginal education, including teacher training and recruitment, and to establish and/or share education indicators specific to Aboriginal student outcomes. The information will be used to identify future actions to improve results for Aboriginal learners.
     
   
• Two national forums, one on literacy and early childhood education to be held in Ontario in autumn 2005, one on adult literacy to be held in British Columbia in spring 2006. The forums will help identify concrete ways to increase literacy significantly among children, youth, and adults, a key to enhancing all Canadians’ well-being and standard of living.
     
   
• An invitation from ministers of education to their federal colleagues to discuss the capacity challenge in the postsecondary sector, particularly in the area of infrastructure, and to consider possible federal involvement. The Council of the Federation (COF) will be asked to take a leadership role on mattters related to postsecondary capacity.

During their meeting in Toronto, ministers also discussed their negotiations with regard to the renewal of the Official Languages in Education Protocol (OLEP), a multi-year federal-provincial/territorial agreement to ensure the provision of minority- and second-language education across Canada.

Ministers als

   
• adopted a set of principles to govern a potential relationship with the newly created Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)
     
   
• discussed the sharing of information among jurisdictions regarding teacher disciplinary records

“As the voice of education across the country and internationally, CMEC is a valuable platform for provinces and territories to leverage value in education in Canada and expand its reach worldwide,” said Minister Dubé.

CMEC is an intergovernmental body composed of the ministers responsible for elementary-secondary and advanced education from the provinces and territories. Through CMEC, ministers share information and undertake projects in areas of mutual interest and concern.

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Information
Colin Bailey
Tel.: (416) 962-8100, ext. 259
E-mail: c.bailey@cmec.ca
Web site: www.cmec.ca