No Funding for Learning from Conservatives
Why has Harper’s Conservative minority government chosen, during a period in which they’ve controversially prorogued parliament, to end funding to the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)?
The CCL describes itself as “a catalyst for lifelong learning, promoting and supporting evidence-based decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.” That seems like a worthy thing to promote in Canada. It’s important after all, to ensure that people’s knowledge and skills are up-to-date with those required to keep Canada competitive and successful in the world economy. Additionally, I’d argue that lifelong learning has intrinsic value to individuals and our society as a whole–but that’s for another post.
Remember, the Conservative minority squandered our budget surplus with its poor planning over the last several years; cuts that Harper and Flaherty have been warning about have already begun. Here’s some evidence that they’re extending beyond silencing the watchdogs that keep government accountable. The Globe and Mail1 reported (8 January 2010) that the Conservatives (through Conservative MP Diane Finley) stopped funding to the CCL and provided us with the following doublespeak:
“Ryan Sparrow, Ms. Finley’s communications director, said the government is working with the provinces and other stakeholders to create a better system that is more responsive to Canadians’ needs.
“Employers, workers, and economists in Canada have told the government that there is a need for better learning information that is more aligned with labour market demand and takes into account international competitive challenges. This need has become even more apparent due to the recent global economic downturn and the government’s focus on Canada’s economic recovery… In other words, there is a need for a more comprehensive learning information system than the CCL can provide.”"
Really? The public isn’t stupid. It doesn’t make sense to shut down an organization that was already successfully doing what the Conservatives claim they want. According to the President and CEO of the CCL2 (January 2010):
“In 2004, Canada saw that it had some catching up to do. Canadians were falling behind the rest of the world in some crucial areas. Innovation. Creativity. Skills development. Learning.
There was no debate about what we had to do to stop the decline, and begin to improve. We had to figure out what works in education and learning, from early childhood to post-secondary schooling, from job training through adult literacy improvement, and we had to monitor our progress so that we were certain we were always on the right path.
That is why the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) was created.
By any measure, CCL has a proud record of accomplishment.
Our Composite Learning Index, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, measures learning conditions, not only in the country as a whole, but in almost 5,000 individual communities. It shows that when you make learning conditions better, you inevitably make economic and social standards better. Europeans have told us they have been “inspired” by the Index, and are now working to produce a version for themselves. …”
The letter continues with more bullet points and information about the CCL’s successful program. As you can see, the CCL was doing what the Conservatives claim they want to do. The Conservatives haven’t announced any other program to accomplish their goal. So how does it make sense to cut off the funding to the program that was designed and already functioning in service of the very goal they claimed to want to reach? It doesn’t. C’mon Conservatives, that’s blatant doublespeak.
Finally as a side note, it’s interesting to contrast Harper’s Conservative approach to the perspective, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff presented in a speech, as reported by the CBC3 (2 May 2009).
“A key strategy for Canada to emerge from the economic downturn is lifelong learning because it fosters innovation that will help to create future jobs in a knowledge-based economy, he said.
“A strategy for recovery must be a strategy for learning. We must create a society where learning is a way of life and learning is lifelong… If you ask what I want for Canada, it is this: That we surprise ourselves, astonish ourselves, that we astonish the world.”"
Truly it surprises that the Conservatives, billing themselves as good stewards of the economy, prefer to cut our economic prospects by halting and reversing Canadian know-how, competitiveness, and leadership in a knowledge-based economy.
(Update 12 January 2010: The Toronto Star has an opinion piece on this issue, further examining the politics and faulty reasoning behind this cut.)
