Bill C-260: An Act relating to cash contributions by Canada and to criteria and conditions in respect of post-secondary education

Short Title Short title 1 This Act may be cited as the Canada Post-Secondary Education Act . Interpretation Definitions 2 The following definitions apply in this Act. cash contribution  means a cash contribution that may be provided to a province under any other Act of Parliament. ( contribution pécuniaire ) Minister  means the Minister of Employment and Social Development. ( ministre ) post-secondary educational institution  means a university, college, vocational school or other institution prescribed by the regulations that offers a course of study leading to a degree, diploma or certificate and that ordinarily receives operating grants from the government of a province. ( établissement d’enseignement post­ secondaire ) provincial minister  means the minister of the government of a province who is responsible for post-secondary education. ( ministre provincial ) Purpose of Act Purpose 3 The purpose of this Act is to establish criteria and conditions that must be met before a cash contribution may be made to a province in respect of post-secondary educational institutions. Cash Contribution for Post-Secondary Education Payment of Contribution Cash contribution 4 Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a cash contribution may be made to each province for each fiscal year. Criteria and Conditions Qualifying criteria — institutions 5 In order for a province to qualify for a cash contribution for a fiscal year, the post-secondary educational institutions in the province must, throughout the fiscal year, satisfy the following criteria, for which conditions are set out in sections 7 to 10: (a) public administration; (b) academic independence; (c) quality; and (d) accessibility. Exemption 6 In recognition of the provincial jurisdiction with regard to post-secondary education, the Government of Quebec may choose to be exempted from the application of section 5 and, despite any such decision, is entitled to receive the cash contribution under section 4. Public administration 7 In order to satisfy the criterion respecting public administration, the post-secondary educational institutions in a province must be (a) administered and operated on a non-profit basis; (b) responsible to the government of the province for their administration and operation; and (c) subject to audit of their accounts and financial transactions in the manner provided for by the province. Academic independence 8 In order to satisfy the criterion respecting academic independence, the post-secondary educational institutions in a province must (a) protect the academic and intellectual autonomy of their staff and students; and (b) prevent outside entities, including donors, from exercising undue influence over research, the development program curricula and employment decisions. Quality 9 In order to satisfy the criterion respecting quality, the post-secondary educational institutions in a province must (a) limit the use of short-term contracts, casual labour and contracting out in hiring faculty; and (b) report to the provincial minister in the manner provided for by the province on the ratio of full-time faculty to students, the ratio of senior administrators to students, the use of contract faculty and course loads among faculty. Accessibility 10 In order to satisfy the criterion respecting accessibility, the post-secondary educational institutions in a province must (a) ensure reasonable access to academically capable applicants regardless of ability to pay; and (b) provide tuition fees to be paid in accordance with a schedule authorized by the law of the province. Condition — provinces 11 In order for a province to qualify for a cash contribution, the government of the province must, at the times and in the manner prescribed by the regulations, provide the Minister with the prescribed information that the Minister may reasonably require for the purposes of this Act. Defaults Referral to Governor in Council 12 (1) If the Minister is of the opinion that a post- secondary educational institution in a province does not satisfy all the criteria described in sections 7 to 10, or that a province has failed to comply with section 11, the Minister must, subject to subsections (2) to (4), refer the matter to the Governor in Council. Discussion process (2) Before referring the matter to the Governor in Council, the Minister must (a) send a notice of concern with respect to any apparent default, by registered mail, to the provincial minister; (b) request any additional information available from the province regarding the apparent default; and (c) seek to enter bilateral discussions regarding the apparent default with the provincial minister. Condition (3) The Minister may refer the matter to the Governor in Council only if the province has not given an undertaking satisfactory to the Minister to remedy the default within a period that the Minister considers reasonable. When no discussion takes place (4) Despite subsection (2), the Minister may act if the Minister is of the opinion that sufficient time has passed since reasonable efforts were made to enter discussions with the provincial minister and no discussions have taken place. Order reducing or withholding contribution 13 (1) If, on the referral of a matter, the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the post-secondary educational institution in the province does not satisfy all the criteria described in sections 7 to 10, or that the province has failed to comply with section 11, the Governor in Council may, by order, (a) direct that any cash contribution to that province for a fiscal year be reduced in respect of each default by an amount that the Governor in Council considers appropriate, given the gravity of the default; or (b) direct that the whole of any cash contribution to that province for a fiscal year be withheld. Amending order (2) The Governor in Council may, by order, repeal or amend any order made under subsection (1) if the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the repeal or amendment is warranted in the circumstances. Copy of order (3) A copy of each order made under this section, together with a statement of any findings on which the order was based, must be sent without delay by registered mail to the provincial minister concerned. Commencement of order (4) An order made under subsection (1) must not come into force earlier than 30 days after the day on which a copy of it has been sent to the provincial minister concerned. Tabling in Parliament (5) The Minister must cause the order and statement to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the order is made. Extension of reductions or withholdings 14 If a post-secondary educational institution continues to fail to satisfy all of the criteria described in sections 7 to 10, or if a province continues to fail to comply with section 11, any reduction or withholding of a cash contribution to the province under section 13 must be extended to each succeeding fiscal year for as long as the Minister is of the opinion, after consultation with the provincial minister, that the default is continuing. When reduction or withholding applied 15 The reduction or withholding of a cash contribution under section 13 or 14 may be applied in the fiscal year in which the default that gave rise to the reduction or withholding occurred or in the following fiscal year. Regulations Regulations 16 The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act, including regulations prescribing (a) institutions or types of institution for the purpose of the definition post-secondary educational institution ; (b) the information that the Minister may require under section 11 and the times at which and the manner in which that information must be provided. Report to Parliament Annual report by Minister 17 (1) As soon as feasible after the end of each fiscal year but no later than December 31 following the end of that fiscal year, the Minister must prepare a report respecting the administration and operation of this Act for that fiscal year, including (a) initiatives and developments relating to post- secondary education; (b) the amount of the cash contribution provided to each province under this Act; (c) recommendations respecting supplementary cash contributions to a province; and (d) all relevant information on the extent to which post-secondary institutions in the provinces and the provinces have met the criteria and conditions for cash contributions under this Act, including (i) a description of the services provided by post-secondary education institutions in each province during that fiscal year, (ii) the amount spent by the government of each province during that fiscal year on post-secondary institutions, (iii) indicators of availability, such as an analysis of the number of spaces available to groups or classes of persons who, in the past, have not been fully served by post-secondary education services, (iv) indicators of affordability, such as average tuition fees charged in each province and average student debt accumulated by students in the province, (v) indicators of quality, such as training requirements, average class size, ratios of full-time faculty to students, and supplies and facilities, and (vi) indicators of accessibility, such as eligibility criteria and the number of students receiving financial aid. Tabling in Parliament (2) The Minister must cause the report to be tabled in each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the report is completed. Referral to committee (3) The report must be referred to a committee of each House that is designated or established for the purpose of considering matters relating to employment and social development. Canada Social Transfer Framework Development 18 (1) Within six months after the day on which this Act receives royal assent, the Minister must, in consultation with provincial ministers, establish a framework for the division of the total Canada Social Transfer entitlement into two distinct components, the first to be provided to the provinces for the purpose of funding programs in respect of social assistance and social services, including early childhood development and early learning and child care services, and the second to be provided to the provinces solely for the purposes of post-secondary education. Purpose (2) The purpose of the framework is to develop a long-term and predictable funding formula for federal contributions to the provinces. Implementation (3) Within 60 days after the day on which the framework is established, the Minister must undertake the implementation of any remaining measures to divide the Canada Social Transfer.