NEWS RELEASE

Ref: 860-348/021

71^st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada
Toronto, Ontario - February 17 - 18, 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EDUCATION MINISTERS DISCUSS PARTNERSHIPS WITH PRIVATE SECTOR LEADERS

Education ministers met today with a number of prominent business representatives in the first of a series of meetings with various sectors in Canadian society.

During the half-day meeting ministersand business leaders discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the education systems in Canada and major obstacles to better performance of the education and training systems. Discussion also focused on the extent to which the systems are competitive internationally, and whether they provide the background, training and skills that private sector enterprises are seeking. Special emphasis was placed on ways that the private sector can contribute to furthering excellence.

"Our talks were frank, very useful, and positive," said the Honourable J.Chester Gillan, Chair of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), at the close of the discussions. "I believe we all left the meeting with a better understanding of the challenges we are facing and a desire to work together to address those challenges. " Both business leaders and ministers agreed that the meeting was an important first step in establishing an ongoing dialogue between the two sectors.

CMEC plans to make similar discussions with other partners a regular feature of its meetings, which are held twice a year. "My colleagues and I hope that these meetings will result in valuable partnerships that will prove to be of significant benefit to learners at all levels of education and training, " said Mr. Gillan, who is Minister of Education for Prince Edward Island.

A list of the private sector representatives attending the February 18 meeting is attached.

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada was set up in 1967 to provide Canada's education ministers with a forum for the discussion of common concerns and a mechanism for undertaking work together in areas of pan-Canadian interest.

-30-

Information:

Boyd Pelley, CMEC
(416) 964-2551, ext. 241
E-mail: boyd@cmec.ca

252 Bloor Suite 5-200, Toronto, Canada M5S 1V5 T61Téléphone 416-964-2551 Fax 416-964-2296
E-mail: cmec@cmec.ca

71^st MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF
MINISTERS OF EDUCATION, CANADA
--------
71^e RÉUNION DU CONSEIL DES MINISTRES
DE L'ÉDUCATION (CANADA)
TORONTO

February 18, 1997

le 18 février 1997

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS INVITED BY CMEC /
CHEFS D'ENTREPRISES INVITÉS PAR LE CMEC

Dan Branda
President and Chief Executive Officer
Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Limited

Reid Morden
President and Chief Executive Officer
Atomic Energy Canada Limited /
Président-directeur général
Énergie Atomique du Canada Limitée

John Dill
President and Chief Executive Officer
McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited

James R. Nininger
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Conference Board of Canada /
Président et chef de la direction
Le Conference Board du Canada

André J. Galipeault
Président
Institut des administrateurs corporatifs /
President
Institute of Corporate Directors

Norman E. Wagner
President
Corporate-Higher Education Forum /
Président
Forum entreprises-universités

Peter C. Godsoe
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Bank of Nova Scotia

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS INVITED BY PROVINCES
AND TERRITORIES / CHEFS D'ENTREPRISES
INVITÉS PAR LES PROVINCES ET TERRITOIRES

BRITISH COLUMBIA / COLOMBIE-BRITANNIQUE
Keith Gray
Vice-President, Educational Services
Business Council of British Columbia

ALBERTA
A. Douglas Rogan
President
Taku Gas Limited

MANITOBA
Art A. DeFehr
CEO and President
Palliser Furniture Ltd.

ONTARIO
John Cassaday
President and Chief Executive Officer
CTV Television Network Ltd.

QUÉBEC / QUEBEC
François Gilbert
Vice-président et chef des opérations
Gestion Charles Sirois

NEW BRUNSWICK / NOUVEAU-BRUNSWICK
Gerry Pond
President and CEO /
Président et chef de la direction
NBTel

NOVA SCOTIA / NOUVELLE-ÉCOSSE
Kirk E. MacCulloch
President
Fairwyn Developments Limited

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND / ÎLE-DU-PRINCE-ÉDOUARD
John R. Forgeron
Department Manager, Human Resources
Strait Crossing Joint Venture

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR / TERRE-NEUVE ET LABRADOR
Moya Cahill
Chair of the Board of Directors
Marine Atlantic Inc.
President, MNC Group Inc.

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES / TERRITOIRES DU NORD-OUEST
David Boyd
Manager Human Resources
BHP Diamonds Inc.

OBSERVERS/OBSERVATEURS

Ayman Antoun
General Manager
IBM Canada Ltd.

Gordon Cressy
President
The Learning Partnership

Brian R. Daly
Manager
Diversity and Employee Development Systems
Imperial Oil Limited

James Gannon
Senior Vice President
Royal Bank of Canada /
Banque Royale du Canada

Valerie Matthews
Director
Global University Programs
Northern Telecom Ltd.

MaryAnn McLaughlin
Director
National Business and Education Center
The Conference Board of Canada /
Le Conference Board du Canada

Tom Norton
President
Association of Canadian Community Colleges / Association des collèges
communautaires du Canada

Kjersti Powell
Manager, Education and Development
Syncrude Canada Ltd.

David Stewart-Patterson
Senior Associate
Business Council on National Issues /
Conseil canadien des chefs d'entreprises
Royal Bank Centre

Paul Swinwood
President
Software Human Resource Council

Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS)

webmaster@scics.x400.gc.ca