At Home:Canadian Council of Chief Executives wants Federal Education Body
The Council of Chief Executives has released a report that is urging Ottawa to work with the provinces and industry to stop the quality of Canada’s education and skills training from declining, according to a report from the Globe and Mail. It recommends a formal federal-provincial body to oversee learning and training in Canada, something about which even the Council’s spokesperson, Ross Laver, admits “not everyone would go that far”

The Council is also reporting that there has been a significant lack of communication between the federal government and the provincial ministers of education, and questions how Canada can maintain a world-class labour force “when the people who are in charge of developing education and training policy won’t talk to one another?”

Around the Globe:Global Initiative for Liberal Arts formed
PIE News is reporting on the founding of GALA, the Global Academy of Liberal Arts. With 16 member institutions, including leading Liberal Arts education providers from the UK, the USA, China, Australia, Poland, Canada and Mexico, the ultimate aim of GALA is to reassert the value of a non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Management) education and to “support the role of creativity and culture in the global economy.”

GALA intends to provide a number of opportunities for students as well, through the establishment of exchange and study abroad programs, which will soon be available. Christina Slade, the vice chancellor of the Bath Spa University in Bath, England, is the architect of this initiative, saying, “I’ve had the idea of creating a global network of liberal arts organisations for some time, because I have a strong belief in the value of exploring the relationship between creativity and social engagement across national boundaries.”