What is CMEC?
The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) is an intergovernmental body founded in 1967 by ministers of education to serve as
- a forum to discuss policy issues
- a mechanism through which to undertake activities, projects, and initiatives in areas of mutual interest
- a means by which to consult and cooperate with national education organizations and the federal government
- an instrument to represent the education interests of the provinces and territories internationally
All 13 provinces and territories are members.
CMEC provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the fulfilment of the constitutional responsibility for education conferred on provinces and territories.
CMEC is governed by an Agreed Memorandum approved by all members. A Chair is elected every two years based on rotation among the provinces. The current Chair is the Honourable Kelly Lamrock, Minister of Education for New Brunswick.
What are some examples of CMEC's work?
Ministers of education work through CMEC on a wide variety of activities, projects, and initiatives. For example, CMEC
- represents provinces and territories on education-related international bodies and participates in their activities
- contributes to the fulfilment of Canada's international treaty obligations
- provides a national clearing house and referral service to support the recognition and portability of educational and occupational qualifications
- assesses the skills and competencies of Canadian students
- develops and reports on education indicators
- sponsors research in education-related statistics
- administers Canada's national official-languages programs
- consults and acts on a variety of issues in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education
Among other work, CMEC is also currently involved in
- specific activities related to Aboriginal education, literacy, and postsecondary capacity
- the development and implementation of a pan-Canadian on-line learning portal
How is CMEC funded?
Current funding for CMEC is approximately $7.5 million per year. Of that amount, provinces and territories provide approximately $5.7 million through
These monies are used for
- member activities, projects, and initiatives
- core services to members
- Secretariat staffing
- Secretariat office and infrastructure
The remaining $1.8 million is provided by the federal government, mostly through funding for the administration of official-languages programs, funding for Canada's participation in international student assessment, and monies for international representation at education-related bodies such as OECD and UNESCO.
What is the CMEC Secretariat, and what does it do?
The CMEC Secretariat was created the same year as the Council itself to support the work of the intergovernmental body. Located in Toronto, the Secretariat is headed by a Director General, who is appointed by members of CMEC. The current Director General, Dr. Raymond Théberge, began his term in June 2005.
The Secretariat has a staff of 40 full-time equivalents (FTEs). This includes the Director General, professional staff, support staff, translators and editors, and financial services personnel. All staff members are bilingual. From time to time, temporary staff are hired for specific projects.
Services provided to ministers by the Secretariat include
- coordination of meetings of ministers, deputy ministers, and provincial/territorial officials
- coordination and administration of all aspects of CMEC activities, projects, and initiatives
- policy research and support, as directed by ministers
- hosting of provincial/territorial electronic discussion forums
- hosting and maintenance of CMEC Web sites
- translation and revision of over a million words of text each year
- English and French simultaneous interpretation at meetings and events
- liaison with various stakeholders including education-related NGOs and the general public
- media and public relations
