Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

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

1. Employment trends, active labour market policies and involvement of the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in September 2009 including detailed information provided by the provincial governments and comments received from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The Government indicates that between October 2008 and May 2009, 362,500 jobs were shed from the Canadian economy (on a seasonally adjusted basis) and unemployment rose to an 11-year high of 8.4 per cent in May 2009 from 6.3 per cent in October 2008. On 27 January 2009, the Government introduced Canada’s Economic Action Plan (Budget 2009) in response to the economic crisis. Budget 2009 provides over 46 billion Canadian dollars (CAD) over the next two years, almost CAD62 billion when combined with the support provided by other levels of government, to support the Canadian economy and help to create jobs. Together with the tax reductions announced in the 2007 economic statement, Budget 2009 is estimated to create or maintain over 265,000 jobs by the end of 2010. The initiatives of Budget 2009 aim to reduce taxes permanently, help the unemployed, create jobs through significant infrastructure spending, support industries and communities most affected by the global downturn, and improve the access to and affordability of financing for Canadian households and businesses. Furthermore, the Committee notes the various labour market measures taken at the federal and provincial levels aimed at creating employment opportunities and recovering from the crisis. The Committee recalls that Article 1 of the Convention provides that Members shall declare and pursue, as a major goal, an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment. In this regard, the Committee notes the comments of the CLC indicating that it finds little recent evidence for such a declaration to have been enunciated “as a major goal” (Article 1(1)) by Canada or by most provinces, at least with enough clarity and conviction for the public to be meaningfully aware of it. Moreover, the CLC indicates that it is not aware that such a policy, in practice, is fully integrated in socio-economic decision-making of the country, and it seems notably absent with respect to macroeconomic policy making, including financial, trade and development policies. In its comments, the CLC also refers to the 2004 General Survey on promoting employment and strongly recommends that the Government and social partners review this document for the purpose of identifying how to improve inter-ministerial coordination, monitoring and reporting mechanisms, employment assessment processes and for programmes to prevent discrimination in employment or for re-employment of workers who lose their jobs for economic reasons. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the impact on the labour market of the measures taken in Budget 2009 and to indicate how such measures are kept under periodical review within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy (Article 2(a)). The Committee also invites the Government to keep in mind the concerns raised by the CLC and to provide further information on the effective consultations held with the social partners on the matters covered by the Convention (Article 3).

2. Education and training policies. The Government reports that, in 2008–09, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada allocated CAD12.9 million annually to support the Pan Canadian Innovations Initiative (PCII). PCII projects must partner with provinces or territories and focus on one or more of the following priorities: literacy and essential skills, immigrants, Aboriginal peoples, under-represented groups, workplace training, and apprenticeship. The Committee notes that project examples include the partners building futures in New Brunswick and the British Columbia reclamation and prospecting teams. The Government indicates that, while interim results are positive, evaluation data is not yet available. The Committee further notes that the Government is providing CAD8.3 billion to the Canadian skills and transition strategy which includes extra support for people who have lost their jobs, enhancements to employment insurance and more funding for skills and training development to help Canadians to obtain better jobs. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in the area of education and training policies and on their relation to prospective employment opportunities. The Committee also asks the Government to provide evaluation data on the PCII when it becomes available.

3. Special measures in respect of vulnerable categories of workers. The Government indicates that since October 2008 the number of job losses has fallen more heavily for certain groups of workers, and workers from specific provinces and industries, resulting in their over‑representation when counting net job losses. For example, recent immigrants account for 3 per cent of employed persons in Canada but resulted in 12 per cent of net job losses. The impact was even more pronounced in the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver (53 per cent of net job losses). Concerning workers with disabilities, the Committee notes the measures adopted at the federal and provincial levels such as the “10 by 10 challenge” in British Columbia and the Ontario disability support program. With regard to older workers, the Committee notes that the Government will contribute additional funding to extend the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW) until March 2012 to help more older workers remain active and productive participants in the labour force. TIOW provides support to unemployed older workers in communities affected by significant downsizing or closures, or a general high unemployment rate, through programming aimed at reintegrating these workers into the workforce. A summarizing evaluation is scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2009 and is expected to address programme relevance, success and cost-effectiveness. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information and evaluation data on labour market measures regarding workers with disabilities, older workers, immigrants, and other vulnerable categories of workers.