Question Period Note: Protocol for Agreements in Education

The Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction between the Government of Canada and provinces and territories has recently been concluded for 2019-2023. Negotiations are underway with the provinces and territories to conclude new bilateral education agreements.

• The Government of Canada is proud to collaborate with the provinces and territories to support education in minority- language and second-language instruction, while respecting areas of jurisdiction.
• Moreover, in March 2019, the Government of Canada announced that an additional 60 million dollars was set aside to support minority-language education until 2023.
• A new Protocol for agreements with the provinces and territories is now concluded and we will sign new bilateral education agreements in the coming months.

• The “Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction” is concluded between the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories. This multilateral framework sets the key parameters for collaboration between the two orders of government on official languages in education, and provides a mechanism through which the Government of Canada contributes to the costs incurred by the provinces and territories in the delivery of minority-language education and second-language instruction. Under the parameters of the protocol for agreements in education, each province and territory must negotiate a bilateral agreement that is tailored to its priorities to access its funding.
• The protocol for agreements in education was first implemented in 1983. Since then, it has been renegotiated every four to five years to reflect changing circumstances.
• Education is an area of provincial and territorial jurisdiction. The provincial and territorial governments are responsible for establishing plans, determining the objectives and priorities, and defining the contents for their programs in education.
• In August 2019, an agreement in principle was reached with the provincial and territorial governments for the renewal of the protocol for agreements in education for a period of four years (2019-2020 to 2022-2023). So far, it has been signed by several of the 12 signatory provinces and territories.
o While it shares the main objectives of the Protocol in education, the Government of Quebec is not a signatory to it. A bilateral agreement is currently being negotiated with Québec.
• Pursuant to the bilateral education agreements, the Government of Canada provides
235.5 million dollars annually to provinces and territories. This includes 148.7 million dollars per year for education in the language of the minority and 86.8 million dollars for second-language instruction.
• To this amount, an additional 15 million dollars per year was set aside from 2019-2020 to 2022-2023 to increase support for minority-language education. This additional support, announced in Budget 2019, is conditional upon provinces and territories committing to improved consultation with stakeholders and transparency in reporting.

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