To the Editor:
It was good to hear Saskatchewan's Education Minister, Russ Marchuk, talking recently about the value of pre-kindergarten and other forms of early childhood development in generating better learners, and ultimately more successful citizens.
Similarly, another respected Saskatchewan educator, former U-of-R Engineering Dean, Dr. Amit Chakma (now President of Western University), recently issued a powerful report on the value of international students studying at Canadian schools.
From pre-school to graduate studies, continuous high-calibre learning is vital to the strength of our economy and the well-being of our society.
While respecting provincial jurisdiction over education, the Government of Canada needs to be more than an idle spectator when it comes to this key determinant of Canada's ability to succeed economically, and Canadians' ability to live fulfilling lives.
So much more should be done by an engaged and energetic federal government to partner with provinces and educational institutions to help make Canadians the best educated people in the world. We will thrive in a difficult global economy by the quality of our brainpower.
So it's good public policy for the federal government to support early learning and childcare, the removal of financial barriers to post-secondary studies and skills, the amelioration of student debt, a shift from student loans to more grants, more affordable student housing, curiosity-based research, and innovation.
And squarely within its exclusive jurisdiction for Aboriginal education, the federal government must end the "cap" that currently limits First Nations' access to post-secondary learning. And in the K-12 system, the feds need to fill the huge gap between what they invest per Aboriginal child, and the much higher amounts the provinces invest per non-Aboriginal child.
Federal action in all these areas should be part of Canada's plan for economic renewal and growth - especially now when we could make a competitive leap ahead of many other countries. Instead the Harper government contents itself with a narrow message about austerity (i.e., making the federal government as irrelevant as possible).
They claim that Canada is doing better than other countries. But that's not saying much when those other countries are all at rock-bottom. Such complacent indifference is a formula for sustained mediocrity.
Ralph Goodale, MP, Wascana, SK.
