Ontario has just begun the process of enhancing its adult education system. In contrast to British Columbia, in Ontario, there is no formal integration between the secondary and post-secondary systems. In fact there is considerable tension over whether skills-upgrading programs should be located within the secondary school or community college systems (Wynne, 2005). In 2004, the Ontario Government undertook a comprehensive review of adult education. The key conclusion of this review was that Ontarians do not have adequate access to learning opportunities that will prepare them for the labour market. In February 2006, in response to this report, the Ontario government established the Adult Education Policy Unit. While it is still early days, it is expected that this unit will have a significant impact on Ontario’s adult learning environment. (Figure 2 in Appendix A shows how Ontario’s adult education system is currently organized.)

In 2001, Nova Scotia launched the Nova Scotia School for Adult Learning (NSSAL) (see Section 4, Box 4.2). One of the most attractive features of Nova Scotia’s system is that it allows for dual crediting between NSSAL and some community college programs. Dual crediting means that learners without a high-school education may able to work towards completing a high-school diploma and a post-secondary credential at the same time. Another important feature of Nova Scotia’s system is that all NSSAL service delivery partners have received training so that they can provide learner assessments and appropriate referrals to any of Nova Scotia’s adult learning programs. This is significant because prior to 2001, service providers often operated in isolation of each other, and there were few learner transitions between programs. Nova Scotia has also recently launched the Workplace Education Program designed to encourage government, business and labour to invest in education and training (see Section 6).

Québec is one of the few provinces in which adult education is covered by a legislative framework. This legislation defines two “régimes pédagogiques” (basic regulations), one for youth and one for adults. Adult education is delivered through the “commissions scolaires” (school boards) in specific institutions, called the “centres d’éducation des adultes” (adult education centres). Programs are harmonized across the two sectors, youth and adult. While Québec has already developed a relatively coherent adult learning system, it is continuing to improve its programs. In 2002, it developed an action plan to ensure that existing adult learning policies were aligned with an emerging lifelong learning paradigm. Although Québec is one of the few provinces where there are waiting lists for certain types of adult programs (mainly on the vocational side), there are still concerns that participation levels among the least educated are far from optimal.

The federal government has also launched a number of initiatives in the area of adult learning. HRSDC’s Learning Initiatives Program has funded a number of projects including several projects on prior learning assessment and recognition and a large scale research project that will demonstrate the impact of comprehensive ‘learner supports’ as a means of increasing access and retention and addressing non-financial barriers to adult learning. One of the most important recent federal initiatives was the launch of the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) in 2004. The CCL is a national, independent, non-profit corporation with a mandate to promote and support research to improve all aspects of learning across the country. Although the CCL does not have a programming role, it will likely have an impact on learning opportunities for lesseducated learners through the identification of good adult learning practices.