Bill C-325

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-325
	An Act to establish national standards across Canada for education provided by the provinces
Preamble	Whereas it is recognized that Canadians can achieve higher education standards and establish improved education systems throughout the country;
	Whereas an improved education will improve the quality of life for Canadians and also make them more competitive in the world in the future;
	Whereas continued access to quality education without financial or other barriers will be critical in maintaining and improving the education standards of Canadians;
	Whereas improvement in education in Canada in the future can only be achieved through cooperative partnerships of governments, education professionals, industry, labour, parents, youth, voluntary organizations and individual Canadians;
	Whereas the Parliament of Canada has the objective of establishing national goals so that Canada will remain internationally competitive, such standards to include school attendance, performance standards and achievement, career-oriented elements in curricula, teacher development and adult literacy;
	And Whereas legislative jurisdiction over education rests with the provinces, and this Act is not intended to abrogate or derogate from or in any way impair that jurisdiction, but to provide a catalyst for interprovincial cooperation to achieve the goals established in this Act;
	Now, Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Education Standards Act.
Definitions	2. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.
``Cana- dian'' « Cana- dien »	``Canadian'' means a citizen or resident of Canada.
``Minister'' « ministre »	``Minister'' means the Minister of Industry.
Canadian education policy	3. It is hereby established that the primary objective of Canadian education standards policy is to protect, promote and improve the quality of education for Canadians and to facilitate reasonable access to education without financial or other barriers.
Purpose of Act	4. The purpose of this Act is to establish national standards for education through a consultative process among governments, education professionals, industry, labour, parents, youth, voluntary organizations and individual Canadians representing all sectors of the population.
National standards for education	5. The national standards for education in Canada shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
	(a) every person who is required to attend school or complete an apprenticeship program should be required by law to remain at a school or in the program until reaching a standard age or completing a requisite number of years in the program;
	(b) there should be incentives to motivate students to complete their education;
	(c) there should be improved standards in the core subjects of mathematics, grammar and the sciences;
	(d) curricula should include appropriate elements, specifically oriented toward skills needed in employment, that will prepare students for entry into the work force;
	(e) there should be a national strategy for the training, recruitment and retention of well-qualified and motivated teachers at all levels of education;
	(f) educators should have regular professional development programs available to them to keep them informed on new training methods and technology and new developments in the subjects they teach;
	(g) there should be closer links between the different elements of the education system, and industry and other employers;
	(h) there should be national standards for assessing, screening and evaluating students across Canada;
	(i) there should be an improved system to facilitate transfer of credits for students who move within Canada;
	(j) there should be reasonable support across Canada to enable disadvantaged young Canadians to complete their education to a level that will enable them to join all Canadians in obtaining employment that is reasonably commensurate with their ambitions and abilities; and
	(k) there should be reasonable opportunities for adult Canadians who are no longer in an education program to achieve functional literacy in at least one of the official languages of Canada.
Implemen- tation of consultative process	6. (1) The Minister shall
	(a) promote and encourage the institution of the standards referred to in section 5 across Canada; and
	(b) advise the heads of departments, boards and agencies of the Government of Canada and of the corporations named in Schedule III to the Financial Administration Act that may be involved in the education, training and professional development of teachers of initiatives they may take and cooperation they may offer to facilitate the achievement of the standards referred to in section 5.
Planning conference	(2) The Minister may convene a conference of the ministers and department heads responsible for education and advanced education in each of the provinces and territories to plan the initiation of the consultative process referred to in section 4.
Agreements	(3) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements with any government of any province or any agency thereof, or with any other person respecting the achievement of the objectives of this Act.
Report to Parliament	7. The Minister shall, no later than July 1 next following the commencement of this Act and no later than every July 1 and January 1 thereafter, prepare and lay before Parliament a report on the activities undertaken pursuant to this Act, the results achieved and the ministers' recommendations for further action to achieve the purpose of this Act.
Coming into force	8. This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

Bill C-325

BILL C-325