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Bill C-265

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C-265

First Session, Forty-first Parliament,

60 Elizabeth II, 2011

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-265

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

first reading, June 23, 2011

NOTE

2nd Session, 41st Parliament

This bill was introduced during the First Session of the 41st Parliament. Pursuant to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, it is deemed to have been considered and approved at all stages completed at the time of prorogation of the First Session. The number of the bill remains unchanged.

Ms. Sitsabaiesan

411274

SUMMARY

This enactment establishes criteria and conditions in respect of funding for post-secondary education programs to ensure the quality, accessibility, public administration and accountability of such programs before payments are made to a province by the Government of Canada in support of those programs. It also requires the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development to 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 targeting social assistance and social services, and the second to be provided to the provinces solely for the purposes of post-secondary education.

Available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:
http://www.parl.gc.ca

1st Session, 41st Parliament,

60 Elizabeth II, 2011

house of commons of canada

BILL C-265

Preamble

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 in 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 financial assistance programs 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

Short Title

1. This Act may be cited as the Canada Post-Secondary Education Act.

INTERPRETATION

Definitions

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“cash contribution”
« contribution pécuniaire »

“cash contribution” means the cash contribution in respect of post-secondary education that may be made to a province under section 6.

“Minister”
« ministre »

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

“post-secondary education”
« enseignement postsecondaire »

“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”
« services d'enseignement postsecondaire »

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

“provincial minister”
« ministre provincial »

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

“Standing Committee”
« comité permanent »

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

ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION

Cash contribution payable

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

Non-derogation

(2) For greater certainty, this Act does 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

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 education programs.

EXEMPTION

Exemption

5. Recognizing the unique nature of the jurisdiction of the Government of Quebec with regard to education, and despite any other provision of this Act, the Government of Quebec may choose to be exempted from the application of this Act and must, if it chooses to do so, receive an unconditional payment of the full cash contribution that would otherwise be paid under section 6.

CASH CONTRIBUTION

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 education 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 education services; and

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

Accountability

(2) In order to satisfy the criterion relating to accountability, the post-secondary education 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.

Quality

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

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

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

Public administration

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

Accessibility

(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.

Cash contribution reduced or withheld

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, if 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.

Order may be repealed

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

Statement to be laid before Parliament

(3) A copy of each order made under this section, together with a statement of any findings on which the order was based, must be sent to the government of the province concerned, and the Minister must cause the order and statement to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the order is made.

Order not to come into force before 30 days

(4) An order made under subsection (1) must not come into force earlier than 30 days after a copy of the order has been sent to the government of the province concerned under subsection (3).

Cash contribution reduced or withheld

(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 must be reimposed for the following fiscal year.

Timing

(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

Report by Minister

8. (1) Within two months after the end of a fiscal year, the Minister must 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;

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

Contents of report

(2) The report must 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.

Report to Parliament

(3) The Standing Committee must 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 15 days on which that House is sitting after the review is completed.

Committee may seek advice

(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

Division of Canada Social Transfer

9. (1) Within six months after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must, 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.

Implementation

(2) Within 60 days after this Act comes into force, the Minister must 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 Arrangements Act.

REGULATIONS

Regulations

10. The Governor in Council may make regulations for the purpose of carrying the purposes and provisions of this Act 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.

Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons

Table of Contents

Cover

Summary