Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

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

1. With reference to its previous observation, the Committee took note of the Government's report and the explanations provided by the Government to the 79th Session of the Conference (June 1992), as well as the discussion in the Conference Committee.

2. The Committee notes the statement to the Conference Committee by the Government representative, which is reproduced and presented in the report as a reply to its previous observation. She reaffirmed the belief of her Government that the creation of an economic climate conducive to growth was a precondition to the achievement of increased employment opportunities in the long term. Recalling the labour market policy programmes implemented within the context of the Canadian Jobs Strategy, she emphasized that the amendment of the Unemployment Insurance Act had made it possible to free new resources for active vocational training measures. She informed the Conference Committee of the establishment in January 1991 of the Canadian Labour Force Development Board, which is of tripartite structure and works through the subregional labour market boards. The Government representative also stated that the Federal Government was negotiating with the provinces improvements in the various programmes and a concerted effort continued to be made to promote the employment of disadvantaged groups of the population. The Employers' members noted the positive aspects of government policy to invest in human resources, the efforts made to help those who were having difficulty getting into the labour market, and the implementation of employment programmes on a regional basis, while recommending that the Government take measures without delay to lower the level of unemployment. The Employers' member of Canada supported the new initiatives taken by his Government and considered that the employment programmes in Canada, by their scope and quality, ranked among the most developed of all the industrialized countries. For their part, the Workers' members regretted to note that the Government continued to give priority in its economic policy to reducing the budget deficit and controlling inflation, to the detriment of employment policy objectives. The Workers' member of Canada emphasized the aggravation of the tendency towards more precarious jobs and estimated that a precise evaluation of underemployment and unemployment should take into account unemployed persons who had been discouraged from seeking a job, workers employed involuntarily in part-time work or under short-term contracts. He concluded by stating that the Government's policy was not in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Convention, and affirmed that an economy with full employment was the basic requirement for ensuring income security and was a determining factor in promoting equality of opportunity and conditions.

3. The Committee notes, according to the new information supplied by the Government in its report and the data contained in OECD studies (to which the Government refers), that the recession experienced by the country in 1991 resulted in a new increase in unemployment, which a trend of low growth since then has not made it possible to remedy. The unemployment rate was over 11 per cent of the active population at the end of the period covered by the report and, according to the OECD, it only stabilized at this level due to a decrease in the activity rate of more than three points in comparison with 1990. Furthermore, data for 1991 show differing trends for full-time employment (which decreased by 3 per cent in relation to 1990) and part-time work (which increased by nearly 5 per cent). The incidence of part-time work has increased proportionally among women, who accounted for 70 per cent of all part-time workers in 1991.

4. The Government supplies in its report new information on the implementation of structural reforms, particularly in the fields of taxation, trade policy, deregulation, privatization and the reform of unemployment insurance. This latter lies in the context of a labour market policy which is intended to reduce the dissuasive nature of a system of protection which is considered to be too generous, in order to place emphasis on active measures. The Committee notes the results achieved in terms of combating inflation, lowering interest rates and decreasing the budget deficit. It notes that, according to the criteria cited by the Government, the requirements for a growth in employment therefore appear to have been achieved, although the OECD does not believe that there will be any particular decrease in unemployment in 1992-93 despite the forecast recovery of activity. With regard to labour market policy measures in the context of the Canadian Jobs Strategy, the Committee once again requests the Government to supply any available evaluation of the impact of the various programmes on the employment of the categories of persons concerned. It would also be grateful if the Government would supply any relevant documents concerning the activities of the new Canadian Labour Force Development Board and, more generally, to supply, as in the past, information on consultations held with the representatives of the persons affected, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention. It hopes, in the same way as the Conference Committee, that future reports will supply information on the progress achieved in attaining the employment objectives set out in the Convention.