Eye on Higher Ed blog: CCL has Been Dead Man Walking For Years

Coleman's Campus blog: Why are we relying on think tanks to do the thinking in this country?

The federal government will end funding for the Canadian Council on Learning, an organization established by a previous Liberal government to promote lifelong education.

CCL told staff Thursday that it had received notice from Human Resources and Social Development that it would not receive federal support past March 31.

“I can't tell you why they ended our funding because … I'm quite convinced that it's well understood by everybody that this organization is an impartial organization, that it does no advocacy whatsoever,” president and CEO Paul Cappon said in an interview.

CCL was established by the Liberals in 2004 with a five-year grant of $85-million. Last year, the Conservatives allowed the organization to continue operations for another year, but did not provide any new funding. The federal money comprised 95 per cent of CCL's budget.

In Dec. 21, 2009 letter, Human Resources and Social Development Minister Diane Finley writes: “…I can assure you that the decision not to renew was not made lightly.”

CCL, which produces reports on the state of lifelong learning in Canada, plans to continue “dramatically scaled down” operations and pursue funding from other sources, Mr. Cappon said.

“What Canada would lose without CCL would be like being a student without a report card of any kind. And we'd be prevented from knowing how far behind the competition we're slipping,” he said.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said the Conservative government made the funding cut when Parliament is shut down and they think no one is looking.

“Cuts to the Council of Learning are incredible to me,” he said. “If you look at the literacy statistics in Canada, one of the dirty secrets, one of the dirty secrets in this wonderful country is how many Canadians don't have full command of literacy and numeracy. And in a recession, this is the worst possible time to cut investment in education. I have been saying that for a year.”

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,” he said in an e-mail. “In other words, there is a need for a more comprehensive learning information system than the CCL can provide.”