Education, Skills and Labour Market - Op Eds

Published in the Globe and Mail on May 1, 2014

By John Richards

John Richards teaches in the Simon Fraser University public policy program. He is also a fellow-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute, and the author of the institute report: "Are We Making Progress? New Evidence on Aboriginal Education Outcomes in Provincial and Reserve Schools".

In 2011 Chuck Strahl, at the time Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, and Shawn Atleo, then as now head of the Assembly of First Nations, agreed to launch a major initiative to improve reserve schools.

The reasons to do so are obvious. For decades, on-reserve high school completion has remained…

Published in the National Post on December 23, 2013

By John Richards and Michael Mendelson

Among the most contentious pieces of legislation for the present sitting of Parliament is a First Nations Education Act. It defines for reserve schools the equivalent of a provincial schools act. Knowing it to be highly contentious, Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, had it posted online, with an assurance that clauses were still open to discussion.

Last month, Shawn Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) wrote an open letter to the Minister. In a delicate balancing act, he restated the almost unanimous view of First Nations chiefs that Ottawa’s current draft Education Act is…

Published in the Globe and Mail on November 23, 2013

By Finn Poschmann

The coming byelection in Toronto Centre, contested by two champions of greater equality, Chrystia Freeland and Linda McQuaig, has proven a jumping off point for a new round of handwringing over the rich and poor, and the distance between them.

Toronto Centre, you see, contains Rosedale and Regent Park, meaning the rich and poor live rather close together. There’s nothing new about that:  Writing a century ago, a visitor to Ottawa remarked on the Rockcliffe neighbourhood, where the well-to-do jostled uncomfortably closely with residents of less tony Vanier.

In the first half of the 20th century, income inequality was on the…

Published in the Globe & Mail on November 7, 2013

By John Richards and Michael Mendelson

No legislation destined for the present Parliament is more important or more controversial than the First Nations Education Act. Proposed legislation is normally tabled first in the House of Commons. The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs recently took the highly unusual step of releasing a draft bill online.

What is this bill about? In effect, it defines for reserve schools the equivalent of a provincial schools act.

It defines the responsibilities of school principals. It requires that band councils designate a “school inspector” and a “director of education” – equivalent to a school board superintendent. It…

Published in the Globe & Mail on May 13, 2013

By Robbie Brydon and Benjamin Dachis

Few topics have generated as much federal attention in the past few months as encouraging workers to fill the oft-cited shortage in skilled trades. But if the provinces do not reform their regulations restricting entry to the skilled trades, the federal effort may be wasted.

Workers in the skilled trades – carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and many more occupations – are a crucial component of the Canadian labour force. According to the most recent data, 2.1 million Canadians worked in a trade for some period in 2005.

In the trades, experienced workers take on apprentices and teach them practical knowledge, while…