P:\HANADMIN\TYPE\Archive
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
April 5, 2006 Public Accounts PA-53 Title: Wednesday, April 5, 2006 Public Accounts Committee tions director; and Marg Leathem, director of business integration. Date: 06/04/05 As you can tell, I have a superb team here with me, and I anticipate Time: 8:30 a.m. that for any questions you might ask me, I will be able to find the [Mr. MacDonald in the chair] answer. If not, I of course will be more than pleased to report back The Chair: I would like to welcome everyone on behalf of all to the committee with answers to any questions we can’t advise on members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts this today. morning. I think we should quickly go around the table and briefly I’m delighted to say that throughout the period of time that I’ve introduce ourselves. had the privilege of being Advanced Education minister – and this meeting is, of course, about the 2004-2005 year – advanced [The following members introduced themselves: Ms Blakeman, Mr. education has been a priority for our government. It involves more Chase, Mr. Eggen, Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Lindsay, Mr. than Alberta’s youth attending classes at university or college in MacDonald, Mr. Prins, Mr. Rogers, Mr. VanderBurg, and Mr. traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions. Equally valuable learning Webber] settings also include apprenticeship training, adults learning in communities, community learning councils, English as a Second Mr. Backs: Dan Backs, Edmonton-Manning. Language training, rural Albertans participating in adult upgrading courses. I often refer to the department as advancing education Mr. Taylor: Good morning. Dave Taylor, Calgary-Currie. rather than Advanced Education because often people think of it simply as the colleges and the universities and the technical [The following staff of the Auditor General’s office introduced institutes, but it’s much, much broader than that. themselves: Mr. Dumont, Mr. Dunn, and Mr. Hoffman] The vision for Advanced Education embodies all of these elements. It’s a vision of a province where all Albertans have access Mr. Hancock: Dave Hancock, Edmonton-Whitemud, Minister of to higher learning opportunities no matter where they live. It’s a Advanced Education. I’ll introduce our officials in a moment. vision of a province that will enjoy even greater success in the century ahead thanks to a solid foundation and legacy of higher Mrs. Dacyshyn: Corinne Dacyshyn, committee clerk. learning that we’re able to create here today. We want Albertans to be inspired to reach their full potential through advanced learning, The Chair: Thank you. Now, the agenda packages were sent to move from where they are now to where they can be. The annual around last Thursday. The committee clerk is circulating the follow- report that we present this morning chronicles the decisive and clear up response of Mr. Dunn from the March 1, 2006, meeting. actions, the priority that our government has placed on postsecond- I would like now to please have approval of the agenda as ary education to achieve that vision. circulated. Mr. Lindsay. Moved by Mr. Lindsay that the agenda for Much of the work that was done in Advanced Education last year the April 5, 2006, meeting be approved as distributed. All in favour? was based on input from stakeholders in collaboration with them. In Opposed? Seeing none, carried. Thank you. January 2005 all postsecondary stakeholders came together to share Now, I would also, please, like to seek approval of the committee short-term and long-term ideas and priorities for the future of the meeting minutes of March 22, 2006, which are attached. Any system. We brought in the presidents and the chairs of every questions regarding those minutes? May I have approval of those postsecondary institution in the province plus students, faculty, minutes if there are no questions? Thank you, Mr. Rogers. Moved members of the public, agent provocateurs, basically a large group by Mr. Rogers that the minutes for the March 22, 2006, committee to really talk about what the vision was, what we needed to do to get meeting be adopted as circulated. Carried. Thank you. there, and also, of course, what the stones in the shoes were, what Now for our meeting with the Hon. Mr. David Hancock, Minister the things were that needed to be done early. of Advanced Education, this morning. I would invite the minister to As a result of that collaborative work we launched the landmark introduce his staff. I would like to remind him that we would like Bill 1, Access to the Future Act, the first legislation of its kind in brief opening comments, not to be more than 10 minutes, a brief Canada, creating the new and expanded multibillion dollar endow- overview of the Department of Advanced Education. There are ments for advanced education. You’ll recall that Bill 1 promised 4 many members who have expressed an interest in directing ques- and a half billion dollars’ worth of new endowments: $3 billion for tions. Any of your other staff who wish to participate are welcome the access to the future fund, a billion dollars to the heritage to do so, and if they want to supplement an answer, they can just feel scholarship fund, half a billion dollars to the ingenuity fund. Of free. course, we had already announced an additional half a billion dollars for the AHFMR, the Alberta heritage medical research fund. I Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to members of consider both of those funds, the ingenuity fund and the heritage the committee. I do want to introduce staff members who are here medical research fund, to be part of advancing education because with me because I can say without any equivocation that the people they’re research based. who work in the Department of Advanced Education do a phenome- We committed to 60,000 new learning opportunities by 2020, with nal service for Alberta students, Alberta learners, and assisting the 15,000 of them in place by 2008. Some of those, obviously, will be institutions that provide opportunities for those Alberta learners. in the traditional classroom, but others will be in areas like adult I have with me today Dr. Bill Byrne, who is our deputy minister; literacy, community adult learning, full and continuing learning at Phil Gougeon, the assistant deputy minister of adult learning; Shirley postsecondary institutions, apprenticeships, and innovative forms of Dul, assistant deputy minister of apprenticeship and industry education and delivery. We covered tuition fee increases of public training; Rai Batra, assistant deputy minister, strategic corporate postsecondary institutions last fall. services; Blake Bartlett, executive director, financial services; John So there are a lot of major new initiatives, but the annual report Ferguson, senior manager, financial reporting and accountability; outlines other accomplishments in a variety of different areas. Gerry Waisman, executive director, student assistance; Bill Spaans, Apprenticeship and industry training. There has been a real focus director, planning and measurement; Michael Shields, communica- on that in 2004-2005. New ways of offering apprenticeship training PA-54 Public Accounts April 5, 2006 were provided in 13 different trades, things like mobile classrooms The performance measures also show that the department to bring training to students on job sites or in remote and rural parts continues to be highly regarded by stakeholders and partners. of the province. The first graduating class from the mobile unit in Ninety-eight per cent of the ministry’s partners and stakeholders Conklin in September I think is a significant step forward. agreed that Advanced Education staff are collaborative, and 82 per As well, more than 760 aboriginal apprentices were registered in cent of our staff are responsive and flexible. I believe that these are the apprenticeship and industry training program in 2004-2005. outstanding results. We’re headed in the right direction. It doesn’t That was a 12 per cent increase from the year before and part of the mean that there isn’t room for improvement. We constantly strive upward trend in that area so that this year we were able to announce to improve. That’s what advancing education is all about. I look over a thousand aboriginal apprentices. A large part is a result of the forward to seeing even better performance results in the years ahead Alberta aboriginal apprenticeship project and the work of our client as we continue to improve the advanced learning system. services units in reaching more aboriginal people and organizations, We achieved a great deal in Advanced Education last year. More increasing industry awareness of the benefits of hiring aboriginal lies ahead. We’ve initiated a process for a complete review of the people as apprentices. It represents a major accomplishment, in my advanced learning system with a focus on meeting the future needs view, both in improving aboriginal participation in the workforce of all adult learners. Many of you participated in A Learning and addressing the need for skilled labour in Alberta but, more Alberta: Framing the Challenge, designed to examine all aspects of importantly, for assisting aboriginal people to be full participants in the adult learning system, including current funding, tuition and the economic success and the community success of the province. affordability, rural education, innovation, roles and responsibilities, Access to learning opportunities in rural communities. Adult aboriginal learning, foundational learning, and diversity. learning councils were expanded to respond to recommendations In putting the system under a microscope, we will build on the from the MLA Committee on Lifelong Learning. Forty-eight many accomplishments highlighted in this annual report and create community adult learning councils expanded their programming, a vision that will carry adult learning in Alberta into the 21st and in 2004 program participation was increased by 19 per cent, century.