Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Canada (Ratification: 1950)

Article 1 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, each year, approximately 3.4 billion CAD in funding is provided for individuals and employers to obtain training and employment support through the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) and Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) with provinces and territories. Additional investments in these agreements, totalling 2.7 billion CAD, were made available in 2017-18 and continue to be made available in 2022-23. The Committee notes that, while the federal Government provides funding under the LMDAs, provincial and territorial governments have the flexibility to design and deliver employment programmes and services best suited to the needs of their local labour markets. At the provincial level, the Committee notes that Ontario is transforming its employment services system to make it more efficient, streamlined, and outcomes more focused. As part of the Employment Services Transformation, a new service delivery model will integrate social assistance employment services into Employment Ontario. This new system will be more responsive to the needs of jobseekers, businesses and local communities, with full provincial implementation to occur by 2024. In response to the Committee’s previous request that the Government provide information on the impact and effectiveness of the activities carried out by the public employment service, the Government indicates that an evaluation of the LMDAs covering the period from 2012 to 2017, found that incremental impacts demonstrate that LMDA programmes and services are improving the labour market attachment of active and former employment insurance claimant participants. The Government adds that, from a social perspective, the benefits of participation exceeded programme costs. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government relating to the provinces and territories. For example, in Québec, the Government indicates that it continuously evaluates employment programmes, measures and services and monitors their results. Evaluations of the economic effects of employment measures and services have estimated that for every dollar invested in public employment services, two dollars returns to society after five years, which translates into a rate of return of 15 per cent. On the basis of the evaluations carried out to date, the Government considers that the services offered by the public employment services make a difference in terms of employment outcomes. With respect to employment placement services offered to unemployed persons across the country, the Committee notes the information provided for the provinces and territories, such as data concerning the Employment Ontario network, which served over 750,000 people in 2020-21, including over 58,900 employers across Ontario. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact and effectiveness of the activities carried out by the employment service and to continue to provide information, including statistical data, disaggregated by sex and age, on the number of public employment offices established, the number of employment applications received, the number of vacancies notified and the number of persons placed in employment by the offices.

Articles 4 and 5. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ representatives. The Government indicates that, pursuant to the LMDAs and WDAs, the payment of annual funding to provinces and territories is tied to deliverables, including an annual plan and annual report with respect to which provinces and territories are required to provide information on consultations undertaken with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the various forums in which employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted at the provincial and territorial levels with respect to employment service policy. It notes that, in Ontario, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development announced in March 2020 that the Workforce Development and Training Review would help the public employment service better understand the current and potential supply of future talent and skills. The review would provide the foundation for the province's first Workforce Development Action Plan to create a roadmap aimed at assisting workers to acquire the skills needed to find good, high-quality jobs in a changing economy. The Government indicates that the Action Plan will be informed by engagement with key stakeholders, including employers’ and workers’ organizations, organizations representing persons with disabilities, and municipal and federal partners. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from the Government’s report that there were no advisory committees established in Saskatchewan. It notes that the Government has not provided updated information regarding Saskatchewan. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the manner in which the employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted at the federal, provincial and territorial levels in the organization and operation of the employment service and in the development of employment service policy.