COLLEGES AND INSTITUTES CANADA
Universities Canada named CICan's Outstanding Partner for 2021

Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) has recognized its national counterpart, Universities Canada, with its Outstanding Partner Award for 2021. The two associations have a long history of collaboration, and worked more closely than ever this year, as their members faced similar challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last few years, CICan and Universities Canada have worked together on a significant number of collaborative initiatives that have produced exceptional benefits for the post-secondary sector. This ranges from the development of a national standard on psychological health and safety for post-secondary students led by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, to the new Outbound Student Mobility Pilot Program that will provide international opportunities for thousands of Canadian students to work and study abroad, as soon as borders reopen.

"CICan and Universities Canada have often been natural allies over the year, and this was especially true this year", noted CICan president and CEO, Denise Amyot. "Since the beginning of the pandemic, our two associations have ensured more than ever that our respective positioning was coherent, as our members faced similar challenges. Together, we were able to defend the critical role that all post-secondary institutions can play in supporting a sustainable recovery, while ensuring the impacts of emergency measures on our institutions, and their students, including international students affected by border closures, were well understood and taken into account by policy makers."