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When, in January of this year, I announced that the federal government had ceased all funding to the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), I also pledged the Council to two important commitments: to attempt to find some funding to replace monies sourced through the Government of Canada, and to maintain CCL as a viable entity.
We were not prepared to abandon so important a social project as the catalyst of lifelong learning in Canada simply because the government of the day had decided that reliable information and impartial analysis were unimportant to the country, or because it procured no immediate political advantage. Instead, we have viewed ourselves as stewards of an important national institution—an organization whose genesis required decades and which is essential to the fabric of Canadian society.
Not only has CCL become a respected and authoritative source of information and analysis of learning issues touching the lives of all Canadians; it also possesses nation-building potential: throughout the land, people are united in their valuing of education, training and learning.
Over the past year, CCL has succeeded on two fronts; although we have reduced our scope considerably, we have nevertheless produced reports on various phases of learning. Our recent efforts have represented significant contributions that have been used and appreciated both in Canada and abroad. We have also raised funds from alternative sources to support CCL’s ongoing service to Canadians.
However, it is apparent, in the short term, that CCL is not able to pursue the range of learning issues to which many in Canada have become accustomed and from which they have benefitted. It will require a funding commitment from the Government of Canada to achieve a restoration of CCL’s full capacity to inform Canadians about the learning issues that are critical to their families and communities.
Until such a decision by the federal government is forthcoming, CCL will therefore curtail its activities further. However, it will not close its doors or dissolve its non-profit corporation. As a former CEO for eight years at the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada, I am fully aware of the obstacles, driven by parochialism, defensiveness, complacency and inertia, that would inhibit the future creation of a similar national instrument as CCL. For this reason, it seems to me paramount that CCL remain open and ready to spring into more robust life when citizens demand it.
In the interim, these are the key changes that will occur at CCL:
CCL will also consider undertaking, on request and under contract, specific and entirely self-funding projects in the learning field that meet the clear criteria set out by its Board and CEO. Such projects must closely reflect the vision and remit of the Council. Although its remunerated staff has been depleted, CCL maintains an extensive network of contacts and experts capable of carrying out any such project that it endorses and that are externally funded.
Finally, a few remarks from a personal perspective: from the beginning of my association with CCL, I have been suffused by the vision of learning in Canada as the 21st century equivalent of the 19th century railway marvel that linked the country from East to West—at a time when assimilation to the U.S. from North to South might have appeared its more likely fate. Neither the imperative of Canadian self-determination and distinctive identity—nor the immense challenges to them—have lessened over the decades.
For these reasons, I have always considered the nation-building potential of CCL one of its fundamental attributes. In this, I have been enormously privileged to work with a Board—both current and past members—who have shared this vision both of the country and of the driver of lifelong learning that is at its core. Similarly, the staff, who have helped to build this Council and to maintain the highest standards of excellence and relevance, have been remarkable in their abilities, in their skills, and especially in their steadfast commitment to the ideals and goals of CCL.
For me, personally, this period of necessary retrenchment—although very “hard to take” after such huge efforts in the conception and building of CCL—may represent a blessing in disguise, for it allows me to get on with other projects that are dear to my heart.
My feeling is that, if I can help to steward CCL over the current rough patch while awaiting restoration of funding to it or to a similar institution, others will come forward in leadership roles, and will build upon the very solid base that I believe that we have established for Canadian learning.
Paul Cappon President & CEO Canadian Council on Learning
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