Education is motherhood and apple pie rolled into one, so Heaven help the government that cuts the funding lifeline to a national education think-tank, which wishes to be Canada's “authoritative resource on learning issues.” But at $85-million over five years, the Canadian Council on Learning is – to be blunt – a bit of a sinkhole. It has produced some worthy reports, but a government-financed think-tank always suffers an existential crisis – or at least it should. That is, does it serve a useful purpose, is it worth the price, would it be missed if it were gone?
Well, it is about to find out. The Conservative government has cut off its funding, which amounts to 95 per cent of its total income. The council has pledged to struggle on, on the remaining 5 per cent. Good for the council. The Liberal Leader, Michael Ignatieff, called it “incredible” that the government would cut education in a recession, but maybe it didn't really need all that money in the first place. The Health Council of Canada has the daunting job of monitoring the promises of the multi-billion-dollar federal-provincial health pacts of 2003 and 2004. It gets by on a mere $6-million a year.
If the Canadian Council on Learning is essential, corporations or the charitable sector or both should flock to its rescue.
The council's purpose, when it was created by the government of Jean Chrétien in 2004, was to launch an innovation strategy. All these years later, how useful has the learning council been in moving Canada toward such a strategy?
An evaluation done by Ekos Research Associates in 2008 praised the Canadian Council on Learning for “identifying knowledge gaps, creating knowledge exchange networks” and “improving the volume, quality and relevance of research and information on learning.”
Its “most significant challenges pertain to effectively engaging various stakeholders such as provincial and territorial governments, clearly articulating its mandate, role and responsibilities to stakeholders (including policy-makers) and Canadians.” Translation: It speaks lots, but is heard little.
Education is a provincial responsibility, which does not preclude a federal role – as in various scholarships for postsecondary students and the Canada Research Chairs for universities. There are already the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and a myriad of other groups to bring people together across provincial boundaries. If people aren't already talking to one another, an extra group won't help.
The American novelist James Baldwin said it is the world's indifference that obliges writers to make their voice compelling. The same could be said of think-tanks that are not supported by government. Speak relevantly, and powerfully, and the private money should come rolling in.
