School is out across Canada, thanks to COVID-19. And classes won’t resume until the chief provincial public health officers and elected provincial leaders say it’s safe to do so. That will come as soon as next week in Quebec. Many other provinces will be much more circumspect. For weeks, it has meant that teachers have…
Transportation, infrastructure and maintenance costs will be minimized, as will human resources expenses
Hats off to teachers, support staff and leaders who have quickly led an historic transition from bricks-and-mortar programming to online and home-school learning for Canadian students. Considering the short timeline, adhering to the protocols set forth by political leaders, and the limited teaching resources, the educational community, students and families came together in the most…
Being tested and labelled at an early age can have a devastating effect on a child’s self-esteem and intellectual potential
If Steve Bannon isn’t on the Alberta government’s payroll, he certainly is its muse. Bannon is the notorious former strategic adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump. His views on the benefits of disruption might well inform Premier Jason Kenney’s government tactics of mass disruption in many sectors. These include the most vital areas of health…
Divorcing a spiritual practice from its religious meaning is problematic and a forcible whitewashing of something deeply and fundamentally complex
By David Hunt and Brian Dijkema Cardus Most court decisions are a zero-sum game. One side’s win is the other’s loss. But this was not the result recently at the B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo. Both sides, and the public, lost in Servatius versus Alberni School District No. 70. One side wanted smudging ceremonies and…
Providing greater educational diversity through independent schools helps B.C. and Quebec achieve better student performance – at a lower cost
By Tegan Hill and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute One of the great advantages of Canada’s federation is that subnational governments can experiment with ways of providing public services and adopt the best system. In the case of public education (a provincial responsibility), the provinces can look to Quebec and British Columbia to learn about…
Canada's kindergarten-to-Grade 12 system flourishes because it's controlled by the provinces, which often show great innovation and creativity
By Jason Clemens and Tegan Hill The Fraser Institute One of Canada’s great political strengths is that we’re a federalist country, meaning we have constituent provinces with significant powers that are distinguishable from the national government. This separation of powers, at least theoretically, allows the country to split the responsibility for different programs between the…
Despite excellent recent PISA results, Canadians shouldn’t be complacent. From 2015 to 2018, scores fell in all three subjects
Canada’s 15-year-old students continue to do well on the gold standard of academic testing, but with some concerns. The Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) has randomly tested students worldwide every three years since 2000. It recently released results from reading, math and science tests completed by some half-a-million students in 79 countries in 2018.…
Looking for – and finding – solutions to hot-button issues from education to economic vibrancy to population growth
New Brunswick has much to learn from the Republic of Ireland. My recent selection as a Dobbin Scholar by the Ireland Canada University Foundation allowed me to conduct an academic visit to Maynooth University and the Republic of Ireland in June. The purpose of my visit was to explore the lessons that the Celtic Tiger…
A modern, diverse system that meets the needs of a pluralistic society can deliver education in different ways
The Liberals are making support for public education a litmus test in the federal election campaign. The Liberals aren’t satisfied that Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has dropped the promised he made during the Tory leadership race in 2017 to provide tax credits to parents for costs of non-government-provided education. Various Liberals have spoken out. Katie…
Study finds no link between the circumstances in the local economy, student unemployment and the level of subsidies handed out. So is it all political?
Those who argue that the Canadian federation exhibits plenty of fiscal and program biases against Prairie Canadians will see further evidence in a recent study from the Halifax-based Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS). The study, Rethinking Student Job Subsidies, authored by David Murrell and Alan Chan, is subtitled The Case for Regional Equity in…