Bill C-398

1st Session, 39th Parliament,

55 Elizabeth II, 2006-2007

house of commons of canada

BILL C-398

An Act to establish criteria and conditions in respect of funding for post-secondary education programs in order to ensure the quality, accessibility, public administration and accountability of those programs

WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada recognizes that post-secondary education has an important role in the economic, social, cultural and political development of Canada and the learning and development opportunities of individual Canadians;

WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada wishes to ensure access by all academically capable applicants to a public post-secondary educational institution that has been sufficiently resourced to accommodate those applicants;

WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada is committed to protecting the quality of post-secondary education throughout Canada and to facilitating access to post-secondary education for all academically capable applicants

(a) by protecting the principles of free and independent academic inquiry, academic freedom, and the academic and intellectual autonomy of post-secondary educational institutions;

(b) by promoting quality in teaching and research;

(c) by encouraging and strengthening the present teaching and research capacities of post-secondary educational institutions and by ensuring the integrity and independence of that work;

(d) by protecting the right of all academically capable applicants to open and equal access to post-secondary education;

(e) by encouraging measures that remove barriers to post-secondary education due to socio-economic status or membership in a group or class of persons not fully served by existing post-secondary education programs; and

(f) by developing and maintaining programs of financial assistance for students;

AND WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada wishes to encourage the development of post-secondary education by assisting the provinces in meeting the costs of that education;

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 Canada Post-Secondary Education Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“cash contribution” means the cash contribution in respect of post-secondary education that may be provided to a province under section 9.

“Minister” means the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

“post-secondary education” means, in relation to a province, every course of study in the province that requires for admission a secondary school diploma or equivalent, is of not less than 24 weeks’ duration, and has been certified as a course of study at a post-secondary level by such person or persons as may be designated by the provincial minister.

“post-secondary education services” means the post-secondary educational services provided within a province.

“provincial minister” means the minister responsible for post-secondary education in a province.

“Standing Committee” means the standing committee of the House of Commons that normally considers matters related to human resources and skills development.

ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION

3. (1) Subject to this Act, a full cash contribution is payable by Canada to each province for each fiscal year.

(2) For greater certainty, this Act shall not abrogate, derogate from or otherwise impair any of the powers, rights, privileges or authorities vested in Canada or the provinces under the Constitution Act, 1867.

PURPOSE

4. The purpose of this Act is to establish criteria and conditions that must be satisfied before a full cash contribution may be made to a province in respect of post-secondary educational programs.

EXEMPTION

5. Recognizing the unique nature of the jurisdiction of the Government of Quebec with regard to education, and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Government of Quebec may choose to be exempted from the application of this Act and, notwithstanding any such decision, shall receive the full cash contribution that would otherwise be paid under section 6.

CASH CONTRIBUTION

6. (1) The Minister of Finance may make a cash contribution directly to a province in each fiscal year to support the post-secondary educational services of the province if the following criteria are satisfied:

(a) the operators of the post-secondary educational institutions in the province are accountable to the government of the prov- ince for the administration and operation of the post-secondary educational services; and

(b) the post-secondary education services provided in the province are of a high quality, publicly administered and accessible.

(2) In order to satisfy the criterion relating to accountability, the post-secondary educational services of a province must be directly administered by the provincial government or by an institution that is operated on a not-for-profit basis and that

(a) is accredited, authorized or designated by the government of the province;

(b) reports to that government in respect of the administration and operation of the services; and

(c) is subject to a public audit of its accounts and financial transactions by the authority that is responsible under provincial law for auditing the accounts of that government.

(3) In order to satisfy the criterion relating to quality, the post-secondary education services of a province must meet the following standards:

(a) standards that relate to the environment in which post-secondary education services are provided, including standards that target faculty-to-student ratios; and

(b) standards that target programs and curric- ula, including standards designed to protect the principles of academic freedom and independent academic inquiry.

(4) In order to satisfy the criterion relating to public administration, the post-secondary educational services of a province must be provided on a public and not-for-profit basis.

(5) In order to satisfy the criterion relating to accessibility, the post-secondary education serv- ices of a province must be provided on terms and conditions that

(a) ensure reasonable access to all qualified persons in the province, regardless of socio-economic status or membership in a group or class; and

(b) ensure that all persons in the province are equally entitled to post-secondary education services appropriate to their needs.

7. (1) When advised by the Minister that the post-secondary education services of a province do not satisfy a criterion or condition described in section 6 in a fiscal year, the Governor in Council may, by order, where the Governor in Council considers it appropriate

(a) direct that any cash contribution to that province for a fiscal year be reduced, with respect to each default, by an amount that the Governor in Council considers to be appropriate having regard to the gravity of the default; or

(b) direct that the whole of any cash contribution to that province for a fiscal year be withheld.

(2) The Governor in Council may repeal or amend any order made under subsection (1) where the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the repeal or amendment is warranted in the circumstances.

(3) A copy of each order made under this section, together with a statement of any findings on which the order was based, shall be sent to the government of the province concerned, and the Minister shall cause the order and statement to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the order is made.

(4) An order made under subsection (1) shall not come into force earlier than thirty days after a copy of the order has been sent to the government of the province concerned under subsection (3).

(5) In the case of a continuing failure to satisfy a criterion or condition described in subsection 6(1) or (2), any reduction or withholding of a cash contribution to a province for a fiscal year shall be reimposed for the following fiscal year.

(6) Any reduction or withholding of a cash contribution under subsection (1) may be imposed in the fiscal year in which the default that gave rise to the reduction or withholding occurred or in the following fiscal year.

REPORT TO PARLIAMENT

8. (1) Within two months after the end of a fiscal year, the Minister shall report to the Standing Committee on the administration and operation of this Act during that fiscal year, including

(a) any initiatives and developments relating to post-secondary education;

(b) the extent to which the post-secondary education objectives of this Act have been satisfied;

(c) the amount of the cash contribution provided to each province under this Act; and

(d) any recommendations respecting supplementary cash contributions to a province.

(2) The report shall also contain a summary of all information in the possession of the Minister that relates to the extent to which the post-secondary education services of each province satisfied the criteria and conditions described in section 6 during the fiscal year, including but not limited to

(a) a description of the post-secondary education services provided in each province during that fiscal year;

(b) the amount expended by the government of each province during that fiscal year for the post-secondary education services;

(c) indicators of availability, such as an analysis of the number of spaces available to groups or classes of persons who, traditionally, have not been served by post-secondary education services;

(d) indicators of affordability, such as average tuition fees charged in each province;

(e) indicators of quality, such as training requirements, average class size and supplies and facilities; and

(f) indicators of accessibility, such as eligi- bility criteria and the number of students receiving financial aid.

(3) The Standing Committee shall review the annual report of the Minister under this Act and shall cause its review and recommendations to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the review is completed.

(4) In conducting its review under subsection (3), the Standing Committee may seek the advice and assistance of any department, agency or association.

DIVISION OF CANADA SOCIAL TRANSFER

9. (1) Within six months after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister shall, after consultation with the provinces and with the intention of developing a long-term and predictable funding formula for federal contributions, establish a framework for the division of the total Canada Social Transfer entitlement into two distinct components, the first to be provided to the provinces for the purpose of funding programs in respect of social assistance and social services, including early childhood development and early learning and child care services, and the second to be provided to the provinces solely for the purposes of post-secondary education.

(2) Within 60 days after this Act comes into force, the Minister shall implement any remaining measures that must be taken in order to implement the division of the Canada Social Transfer, including amendments to the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangement Act.

REGULATIONS

10. The Governor in Council may make regulations for the purpose of carrying out the administration of this Act and for carrying its purposes and provisions into effect, including regulations respecting the information the Minister may require for the purpose of reporting to Parliament under section 8 and for the purpose of implementing section 9.