Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's with great pleasure that I ask for leave to introduce Bill 18, the Education Act, for second reading.

The course of history turns on events both large and small. Often no one can truly understand the significance of what has been achieved in the past until long after events have occurred. For example, more than 570 years ago Johannes Gutenberg perfected movable type, and we are all beneficiaries of the revolution in access to learning that his invention helped to initiate.

More than 290 years ago Wapasu, a Cree trader, brought a sample of bituminous sands to the Hudson's Bay Company post at York Factory on Hudson's Bay. That was indeed a small event, Mr. Speaker, but 84 years ago it resulted in Karl Clark of the University of Alberta perfecting a process for separating bitumen from the oil sands, that has become one of the pillars of Alberta's economy today.

Fifty years ago this month Yuri Gagarin was rocketed into space and orbited the Earth. His 108-minute journey signalled that technology was going to drive the future. We can show now how these events set the stage for many things to come. But at the time they occurred, just what they meant to the future wasn't immediately clear. Today we're witnessing far more than just the mere tabling of legislation. We are witnessing an event that has the potential to change the lives of generations of Albertans to come.

When the School Act of 1988 was introduced, it was intended to bring education into line with the world that existed at the time and to provide Alberta and its students with an effective foundation for the future. The current success of our K to 12 system and the acknowledgement that it is one of the best educational systems in the world shows the wisdom behind the changes that were made to the School Act in 1988.

However, the world of 1988 was a much different place than the world in which we exist today. In 1988 one of the important technological announcements was the release of an advanced scientific calculator. Technological advancements have turned that much heralded calculator into not much more than a battery-operated paperweight. In 1988 the Internet was six years old, and it was not nearly the Internet that we know today. Personal computers were just starting to be available. Mobile phones were still in their infancy. In 1980 there were about 11.2 million mobile phones in the entire world. Now there are more than 3 billion mobile phones. The world has changed dramatically since 1988. Alberta has changed and is changing still.

One of the things our education system must do now is to respond effectively to a far greater diversity in the native languages and cultures of our student population. Alberta has drawn newcomers from Africa, India, Pakistan, China, and indeed all parts of the world. These newcomers rightfully expect Alberta to educate their children in a way that equips them for success in their new province and country.

In addition to responding to newcomers, we must also better respond to the needs of our First Nation, Métis, and Inuit peoples. This is the fastest growing segment of young people in Alberta. We must ensure that they, too, have the same opportunities for success and are equipped to perform at the same level of achievement as the rest of the population.

Our system is doing well now, but we must ensure that it does well by every child and that all children are provided equal opportunity for success. Given the rapid changes that we're seeing in Alberta and in the world generally, we cannot be complacent about our education system and the role that it will play in our future prosperity. The world of tablet computers, smart phones, Smart boards, text messaging, video chat, and Internet-connected game consoles was the stuff of science fiction in 1988.

As Daniel Pink, the noted American author, has said, it is our responsibility to educate our children for "their future, not our past." Though we cannot predict the future, we can help shape the future through education. Our education system must continue to evolve if we are to continue to be leaders in education today and tomorrow. That is why we've introduced the new Education Act.

Alberta has experienced tremendous economic development through the past decades since the School Act was introduced. Fundamental changes are occurring in the global economy. Our province must change, too, if it's to flourish in the new economy just as it did in the old. As was stated in this year's throne speech, "Of all of Alberta's natural resources, none is more valuable than our people. It is our ethical citizenship, engaged thinking, and entrepreneurial spirit that have made Alberta prosperous today" and which must be the foundation of education if the children of today are to realize their promise tomorrow.

Ethical citizenship, engaged thinking, and entrepreneurial spirit are the qualities of our education system that must be instilled in our children as they grow into young adults. It is those qualities that will enable them and our province to reach our full potential. Though Alberta's education system leads the world today, we must not be complacent. We must redouble our efforts to maintain and remain a world leader in education.

Through the Education Act we will equip the education system to offer students more flexible, engaging, and personalized learning. We will continue to build the teaching profession. We will recruit, prepare, and support the best and brightest in becoming and remaining teachers. We will continue to build an education system in which all students have value, a system that recognizes that all children have some capacity for success regardless of their ethnicity, place of birth, or the physical or psychological challenges which they may realize in reaching their full potential.

When looking at the achievement of Yuri Gagarin, it is important to remember that it was not a rocket that took him into space. It was his education, an education that allowed him to identify and follow his passion and enable a man who was only five foot two to become a giant of achievement and to take on the mantle of Columbus of the Cosmos.

Through the new Education Act we are making a commitment to all Albertans' children that they, too, will be able to find and follow their passion. We will create schools that are safe, caring, and respectful places in which to learn and grow. This will be the responsibility not only of communities, boards, schools, and teachers but of the students as well. Students will be required to refrain from, not tolerate, and to report bullying directed towards others in the school, whether or not it occurs in the school, online, or during the school day.

One significant change of the Education Act that will also affect students is the school leaving age being changed to age 17. This change sends a clear message about the importance of education and the need to complete high school if one is to take full advantage of the opportunities Alberta has to offer, and it implements a portion of a private member's bill brought forward by the Member for Little Bow a number of years ago.

Another change is that our young people will have access to a high school education until the age of 21. This acknowledges that not all students work at the same pace and that many students who now leave high school early find themselves blocked on the basis of age when trying to return to complete their studies. This change, too, acknowledges the importance we place on education and our willingness to support those who leave and want to come back. Their being able to do so will not only be a benefit to them but to Alberta.

The new Education Act also creates residency for students based on where they live rather than on where their parents live. This change is based on the belief that an eligible student who is a resident of Alberta and who has a parent who is a resident of Canada is entitled to an education here. In essence, the new education system will adapt to the student and not the student to the system. As we have seen through successive generations, it's education which will enable our children to recognize their maximum potential.

Though the Education Act was drafted here in the Legislature, its content actually comes from the people of Alberta. The Education Act is the result of almost three years of unprecedented dialogue with Albertans about how our K to 12 system needs to be transformed for it to equip our students for success in the 21st century. All school jurisdictions in the world, including the top- performing systems in Finland and Singapore, have recognized that their models for education must be changed and their systems must be transformed.

We can be proud of the fact that Alberta is taking a bold step forward when it comes to transforming our education system. There is something that I must make clear, however. It is not legislation that will transform our education system; it is people that will do that. Our success will be based on the engagement in education of trustees, teachers, students, parents, and the broader community. The Education Act is predicated on the basis that education is of benefit to all and requires the support of all for its success.

Mr. Speaker, it is not by chance that we are not introducing a new School Act. The School Act of 1988 was about the operation of the system of education. The new Education Act changes the focus from the system and the buildings to the student. The focus moves beyond seeing learning as only taking place in the school and will allow learning to take place at any time, in any place, and at any pace. We will also continue to build capacity for local decision-making and foster broader community engagement.

The Education Act, unlike the School Act it is replacing, is less prescriptive and is more descriptive, or enabling. The education system does not tell students what to be; it enables them to be what they can, want, and need to be. In the same way, the Education Act won't tell stakeholders exactly what to do but will enable them to do what needs to be done. The Education Act describes the desired destination; it does not describe the specific route for arriving there.

It provides boards with natural person powers that they have said are critical for their success and enables them to act as true leaders in the quest for educational excellence. Boards will be able to do any legal thing a person can do that is consistent with board responsibilities as outlined in the act. Natural person powers will enable boards to be more responsive, nimble, and adaptable in meeting the needs of the communities they serve. If anyone believes that these powers will somehow unduly politicize school boards, I only need to remind them that trustees are elected every three years precisely to ensure that the views of the community shape the work of the school boards.

It will also create the conditions that will allow boards and the ministry to work together with all educational stakeholders to transform education. The act clearly indicates the responsibilities of boards, parents, teachers, and students in creating educational success. The responsibilities of boards reflect a student-centred focus and the principles of inclusiveness, diversity, and excellence. Because education is foundational to the future, it matters to the whole community, and the whole community has a responsibility to engage in the education of its children. The new Education Act makes engagement possible across the system.

Though many things have changed in the new Education Act, some things remain the same. The act still shows a commitment to a publicly funded education system that provides a choice of educational opportunities - public, separate, francophone, charter, and private schools as well as home-schooling options for parents - and it continues to honour the rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Canada with respect to minority language and minority denominational education via public, separate, and francophone schools.

But we should be clear that our transformation neither begins nor ends with legislation. Make no mistake. School boards and teachers are already changing their work to fulfill the vision of inspiring education and the needs of our students. No one can reasonably expect that a large, complex system like the education system of Alberta, with a $6.4 billion budget, 600,000 students, over 40,000 teachers, thousands of support staff, and almost 1,700 schools, is going to change overnight because of the passing of an act.

That's why as we transform the education system, our conversations will continue. Albertans are shaping the changes we're making, and we welcome their continued involvement in shaping this legislation. Every Albertan who has a comment or suggestion about this act can join the discussion at www.education.alberta.ca/engage or learn more about this act at www.education.alberta.ca/educationact.

It's an exciting time for education in Alberta, a time when we have a clear direction that we need to take and a willingness and ability to travel there. Today, Mr. Speaker, in a small way we are making history in Alberta. Just as Yuri Gagarin showed us that we are no longer limited to this planet and could explore amongst the stars, we are now showing that our education will be bound only by the possibilities we create for ourselves.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would move that we adjourn debate.

[Motion to adjourn debate carried]