Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My name is Michèle Clarke. I'm the director of government relations and policy research at the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. We appreciate the opportunity to provide input to the committee's

Human Resources committee  Is that question for me?

Human Resources committee  Yes, colleges are working very closely with industry to help displaced workers. Our members across Canada certainly offer a considerable amount of training to help those people develop new capabilities, new skills, so that they can return to the labour market. A partnership is f

Human Resources committee  Unless I'm mistaken, you are talking specifically about encouraging young people to pursue studies in trades, for instance. There are certainly challenges to meet in all Canadian provinces in terms of encouraging people to enrol in trade-related programs. There are gaps in all

Human Resources committee  I was going to add that the reaction of colleges.... We often describe our members as being able to turn things around on a dime. They do this regularly, and with ease and with flexibility. There obviously are some cost implications, but their mandate is to respond to community n

Human Resources committee  In the holistic approach that colleges provide for the learners, there are approaches that colleges are putting in place to be able to support the many needs that learners in rural and remote communities have. So there's the element of being able to support colleges to be able to

Human Resources committee  I do have a program, though maybe it's not a pilot. The ASEP program is coming to an end in 2012, and colleges have worked through it. They have recommended some efficiencies for it and for ASETS as well. I would add a comment on the different kinds of funding available for lea

Bill C-11 committee  Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My name is Michèle Clarke. I'm the director of government relations and policy research for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. I'm accompanied today by Claude Brulé, the dean of the faculty of technology and tra

Bill C-11 committee  Well, I haven't had the privilege of seeing the brief that is before you, so I'm not sure which organization it's from and what it says.

Bill C-11 committee  Certainly, the education community has for many years purchased textbooks, and they will continue to purchase textbooks. There are millions and millions of dollars invested on the part of our members to be able to provide textbooks to their learners. Clearly, the way education

Bill C-11 committee  Okay. I'll just ask my colleague—

Bill C-11 committee  All right.

Bill C-11 committee  I'm going to be very brief, and I'll give most of those seconds to my colleague. Online learning is very huge for the colleges and the 30-day provision does not seem realistic. It's not manageable.

Bill C-11 committee  I don't think that's what we're suggesting. I do think my colleague might have a perfect example to share with you with respect to how online learning actually occurs. Certainly, you have students, and there is the textbook element, there is the notes element, and there is the vi

Bill C-11 committee  The students who are at home are not being treated differently. Let me ask Claude to give you an example of how it is used at his college.