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 been concluded for 2019-2023. Multi-year education agreements are in place or are being negotiated with all of the provinces and territories.

• The Government of Canada is proud to collaborate with the provinces and territories to support minority-language education and second-language instruction, while respecting areas of jurisdiction.
• A new Protocol for Agreements in education has been reached with the provinces and territories, and we are working toward multi-year bilateral agreements that include new targets set by the provinces and territories.

• The “Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction” 2019-2023 has been reached 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.
o While it shares the main objectives of the Protocol in education, the Government of Quebec is not a signatory to it.
• 2019-2023 bilateral agreements in education have been concluded with Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories, while the other provinces and territories concluded one-year agreements (2019-2020). Negotiations are underway with these jurisdictions to conclude multi-year bilateral agreements in education (2021-2023).
• With the conclusion of the new agreements, the provinces and territories can access funding for infrastructure initiatives that support official language minority communities (including schools and cultural centres), and to funding for the recruitment and retention of teachers both for minority-language schools and immersion and second-language programs.

• Pursuant to the bilateral education agreements, the Government of Canada provides
$235.5 million annually to the provinces and territories ($149.1 million for minority language education and $86.4 million for second-language instruction).
o Moreover, an additional $15 million 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.
• 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.

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