A Liberal government will work with labour unions, employers and other governments to expand apprenticeships and other skills training opportunities for Canadian workers. In adult literacy, where provincial governments and local agencies are best placed to act, a Liberal government will offer support as part of the Canadian Learning Strategy.

Unless Canada takes action, we will increasingly become a country that has “jobs without people and people without jobs” – a significant number of workers who are un- or underemployed, alongside hundreds of thousands of jobs that can’t be filled because too few Canadians have the skills and education required. Experts estimate that by 2017 we will need to increase the proportion of Canadians who have some form of post-secondary education from 60 percent to 73 percent to keep up with this demand for skilled workers. And yet, gaps and obstacles to learning persist and grow at all levels.

As post-secondary education becomes ever more vital for success, it’s also becoming more costly. At more than $5,000 per year on average, university tuition is now slipping out of reach for many middle-class families.

We also face an unacceptable regional and income-based education gap, with 60 percent of low-income students dropping out of school in some communities. The gap between levels of education attained by rural and urban youth is significant, and the one between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians is completely unacceptable.

Too many Canadian parents seeking child care and early learning cannot find quality and affordable spaces when and where they need them. And employers need to provide more training opportunities to support Canadian workers in upgrading their skills more frequently.

Studies show that more than 40 percent of adults lack the literacy skills they need to succeed in the modern economy. New Canadians often face the particular challenge of mastering one or both of the official languages of their new home.

The challenge of learning is one for all Canadians, and is crucial to the goal of making equal opportunity a reality for every family.

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We’ve already seen leadership from some provinces, particularly Quebec. But due to the lack of federal leadership, Canada receives failing grades from international bodies, including the OECD and UNICEF, for having no coordinated, national early childhood learning and care policy. Working parents, amid all their other pressures, often struggle with waiting lists for the limited number of existing spaces. That wait can often last years.

A Liberal government will establish a new Early Childhood Learning and Care Fund that will begin with $500 million in the first year, rising to an annual commitment of $1 billion by the fourth year.

Administered as a new social infrastructure fund, provinces and territories will be able to apply to the Fund for cost-sharing of early childhood learning and care plans that create and operate new, affordable, high-quality early childhood learning and care spaces across Canada, with well-trained professional staff.

The long-term goal is a high-quality, affordable early childhood learning and care space for every Canadian family that wants one. But the federal government cannot do this on its own. It will require sustained collaboration among all governments. As implementation of the Fund ramps up joint investment, a Liberal government will also work with other governments on the research, policy development, and sharing of best practices for the system necessary to meet this long-term goal. This plan will support innovation and different approaches at the provincial and community level.

A Liberal government will place Canada on a path of step-by-step, year-by-year progress in improving access to inclusive early childhood learning and care. The result will be higher quality care for Canadian families, less waiting for spaces, and a country with a renewed commitment to the learning and development of our youngest citizens.

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A Liberal government will introduce the Canadian Learning Passport, a significant financial boost for higher education delivered directly to families. It will provide $1,000 a year over four years for every high school student in Canada to use for college, university or CÉGEP. For students in low income families, the amount will be $1,500 a year, or an extra $6,000 in total.

All parents will have to do is open a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). They won’t have to make any contribution of their own to receive the Learning Passport.

This will be a new federal investment of $1 billion annually.

The RESP is the right vehicle for a new, national investment in learning. It already incorporates incentives for families to save for education, putting aside what they can for the long-term. The Learning Passport will increase take-up of RESPs, especially among families least able to save. It will also provide extra incentive to stay in school, helping to reduce drop-out rates.

A Liberal government will work with financial institutions, provincial and territorial governments and other partners to assist all parents to start an RESP for their kids. Promotion and information about the Canadian Learning Passport will begin early, in order to encourage young Canadians to consider and prepare for college or university. Additional financial support will help increase post-secondary participation among those families who currently assume they can’t afford it. Moreover, the Learning Passport goes where the student goes, empowering students to choose the institution that works best for them.

There will be further relief for student debt loads through a Liberal government’s Canada Service Corps, which will forgive $1500 in student loan debt for young Canadians who engage in volunteer service.

The Canadian Learning Passport

The Learning Passport will be paid out in annual installments of $1000 or $1500 at the start of the school year, when students need it most. A reduced amount will be paid out for part-time study. If the recipient completes studies before the Passport benefits are fully paid out (for example after a 2-year college program), the remaining value of the Passport will remain in the RESP, available to support further post-secondary learning in later years. If the beneficiary of an RESP does not attend college or university, then the Learning Passport money does not get paid out, and is returned to government coffers.

The Learning Passport will simplify the existing scheme of tax credits by ending and rolling in the modest Textbook and Education tax credits (except for graduate students). The Tuition Tax Credit will remain in place, as would the Canada Student Loans Program and the associated Canada Student Grant Program.

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Aboriginal people are taking action with hope and ambition for the future. The federal government must stand with them as partners to accelerate progress in several major areas. Education is the most fundamental, and should be the top priority. A Liberal government will commit to working with Aboriginal leaders toward the goal of ensuring Aboriginal people have the same quality of opportunities to learn as other Canadians.

With a population that’s growing at six times the national average, and a median age of only 27, the success of Canada’s Aboriginal people is critical to our country’s economic well being. For them, as for most Canadians, learning is the key to success.

Yet, the dropout rate among Aboriginal students is twice the national average. And those who do reach post-secondary education face long odds against finishing.

One of the drivers of these tragic statistics is the underfunding of aboriginal education in Canada. Most on-reserve schools, funded by the federal government, receive significantly less per pupil than schools in the provincial systems. And while federal funding for Aboriginal post-secondary education has been capped at 2 percent per year, tuition is rising at twice that rate.

A Liberal Government will invest an additional $200 million in its first two years to lift the cap on post-secondary education funding. Consistent with the approach of the Learning Passport, we will explore with Aboriginal leaders ways to deliver resources more directly to students and their families. A key objective will be to increase the retention of Aboriginal students in Canada’s post secondary institutions.

Addressing the challenges in K-12 education is even more fundamental. A Liberal government will work with Aboriginal leadership to address inadequate funding over the medium term, starting with $300 million in new investment in its second year. We will support efforts to improve administration.

First Nations University in Saskatchewan, an important institution, will be re-financed under a Liberal government. We will create a Canada Métis Scholarship program, with a $5 million annual investment in Métis students.

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Following the Second World War, both Canada and the United States offered veterans full support for their post-secondary education. Although the GI Bill continues in the United States today, no similar program remains in Canada. It’s time we did more.

In addition to honouring veterans, post-service education support would contribute to other important objectives. It would provide a significant boost for recruitment at a time when the Forces face difficulty in meeting enrollment needs in many specific occupational categories, particularly high-skill and technical areas. In addition, education support would smooth the reintegration of Canadian Forces personnel into society and the workforce. That makes sense for both the individuals involved, and the knowledge and skills-dependent Canadian economy.

Based on current projections of attrition rates and the Forces’ needs, and assuming a high take-up rate, this represents an estimated investment of up to $120 million in veterans’ learning over the first two years of a Liberal government.

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Unfortunately there is a large success gap between immigrants and citizens born in Canada, a gap that has grown in the last 30 years. Research has consistently shown that inability to function in either English or French is a major barrier to immigrants’ success in the workplace and in the community. Language proficiency also increases earnings for the individual, and labour productivity for the economy.

Only about 25 percent of newcomers are accessing federally funded language training. And yet the Harper government has been shrinking its commitment in this crucial area, by failing to disburse identified funds, and even slashing planned spending for basic language training. The rules are another problem, as newcomers become ineligible for language training support as soon as they become Canadian citizens.

Liberals believe it’s in everyone’s interests that new Canadians succeed in the workforce, and can fully participate in the daily life of their communities. Under the Canadian Learning Strategy, a Liberal government will significantly increase federal investment to improve and expand language skills training programs, ramping up to an increase of $100 million annually within four years.

We will expand eligibility to include foreign born Canadian citizens who need help improving their English or French, and work with partners to make language training more flexible and accessible, and better inform potential participants to increase take-up.

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In an increasingly interconnected world, entrepreneurialism and innovation in all fields will be well-served by the flow of ideas that is enriched when we expose more Canadian students to international experience, and introduce students from other countries to the strengths of our country, our culture, economy and higher education system.

We will better leverage our reputation for openness, multiculturalism and excellence in education, by making learning a major component of a new Branding Canada initiative.

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