Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Canada (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes the full information provided in reply to the report form and to its previous observation. The Government has described in detail the employment situation in the provinces and among various categories of the population, as well as the measures taken under the Canadian Jobs Strategy (CJS), a new approach to job creation, training and upgrading introduced in 1985. The Government has, in particular, taken steps in the field of social security to facilitate worker mobility and mitigate disadvantages workers might otherwise suffer in transferring from one job to another. It indicates that employment grew at a relatively high rate (2.8 per cent in 1987), whereas part-time employees (72 per cent of whom are women) have become a permanent and significantly large section of the workforce (15.2 per cent in 1987), which may be treated unfairly. Unemployment overall has dropped through 8.9 per cent in 1987 to 7.5 per cent in 1988, according to the Government (the OECD standardised rate for Canada in 1987 being 8.8 per cent); levels of unemployment continued to decline for all ages and across all provinces (e.g. from 12.6 per cent in 1986 to 10.8 per cent in the first half of 1988 for British Columbia).

The Committee trusts the Government will continue supplying information on the measures taken under the CJS. In particular, it hopes the Government will endeavour to show the results of its measures in terms of employment, indicating the extent to which the regions worst affected by unemployment benefit, as well as how far full-time and how far part-time seasonal or casual employment are created. The Committee would be glad if the Government would so far as possible describe the employment consequences of overall economic policies referred to in the report, especially in the fields of trade (considering that the Free Trade Agreement with the United States which is to be phased in over a ten-year period will require adjustment of the labour force, as already suggested by the measures envisaged by the Alberta authorities), and fiscal and monetary policies. This information will enable the Committee to have a better appreciation of the manner in which effect is given to the aims of the Convention.

Finally, as regards application of Article 3 of the Convention, the Committee notes with interest that many elements of the Government's labour market policies and services include tripartite consultation and that in the Province of Alberta, in particular, consideration is being given to augmenting existing formal consultative procedures through the establishment of regional training councils. It would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information on any further developments in this field, at the federal and provincial levels.