Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

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

Articles 1–3 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. Involvement of the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s report which includes detailed information in reply to the 2011 observation and specific information provided by the provinces. It also notes the observations made by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), transmitted by the Government. The Government indicates that, through the Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs initiative, Budget 2014 invests in employment measures through a three-pronged approach: ensuring training reflects labour market needs; training the workforce of tomorrow; and strengthening Canada’s labour market. The Committee notes the 2014 Jobs Report – The State of the Canadian Labour Market – which provides an assessment of the state of the labour market, its preparedness to meet future challenges, and concludes with a description of actions taken by the Government to establish an environment conducive to a dynamic labour market and the creation of high-quality jobs. According to the October 2014 Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate was measured at 6.5 per cent, the lowest point since November 2008. During the 12-month period leading to October 2014, employment rose by 182,000 persons, with part-time employment increasing by 101,000 and full-time employment by 81,000. Referring to its observations made in 2009, the CLC is concerned by the fact that there is still no clear commitment to full employment or any measurement of success. The CSN is of the view that employment policy needs to be reviewed to place full employment as its fundamental goal. The CSN indicates that unemployment problems in Canada mostly relate to a lack of employment opportunities and quality employment and illustrates it with information from Statistics Canada indicating that in February 2014 there were seven unemployed people for every job vacancy. Moreover, the proportion of people that have been unemployed for over six months is unusually high and jobseekers are accepting part-time employment due to a lack of full-time job opportunities. Referring to the issue of job insecurity discussed in Report VI “Employment policies for sustainable recovery and development”, submitted to the 103rd Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2014, the CSN is of the view that the federal and provincial governments need to urgently address the issue of precariousness in employment. In light of the concerns of the CLC and the CSN, the Committee invites the Government to indicate how, pursuant to Article 2 of the Convention, it keeps under review the measures and policies adopted according to the results achieved in pursuit of the objectives of the Convention specified in Article 1. It also invites the Government to provide further information on the effective consultations held with the social partners on the matters covered by the Convention.

Education and training policies. The Government indicates that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) hosted a national Skills Summit in June 2014 which brought together various actors in the labour market and training system to discuss relevant skills issues and identify best practices and priorities for action. The Skills Summit reinforced the importance of partnerships and the need for an ongoing dialogue, as solutions to many skills challenges require multiple stakeholders to work together. In its observations, the CLC indicates that skills development is essential to improving the employability, mobility and earnings of workers, and improving the productivity, job creation and economic growth of a country in the long term. It adds, however, that Canada is performing poorly on skills development outside the formal education system as Canada does not have an extensive or equitable adult learning and workplace training system. In light of the concerns raised by the CLC, the Committee invites the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken in the area of education and training policies, including adult learning and workplace training, and on their relation to prospective employment opportunities.

Youth employment. In reply to the previous comments, the Government indicates that a summative evaluation of the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) was completed in 2009 which found that the strategy assists youth to enhance their employability skills while increasing the number of skilled young people in the workforce. The YES summative evaluation indicated that the programmes generally resulted in positive outcomes for participants. A new summative evaluation is scheduled to be released in 2015. The Committee notes that in 2012–13 YES helped nearly 48,000 young people to obtain the skills and work experience they needed to successfully enter the labour market. It notes that Budget 2014 announced funding for over two years for the YES towards supporting up to 3,000 full-time internships for post-secondary graduates in high-demand fields. In addition, to facilitate linkages between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and youth, the Government will allocate funds annually to support up to 1,000 internships in SMEs. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the labour market measures taken to support productive and lasting employment for young people. Please also include information on the 2015 evaluation of the Youth Employment Strategy.

Aboriginal peoples. In reply to the previous comments, the Government indicates that a single evaluation covering both the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) and the Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) programmes is underway. The evaluation covers ASETS and SPF activities from April 2010 to January 2014. The Committee notes that the most recent evaluation of the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership (ASEP), completed in 2013, demonstrated that those who participated in the 2003 ASEP projects had increased their employment earnings and incidence of employment over the four-year period following the start of their participation. The Committee notes from the 2014 Jobs Report that securing employment is a challenge for a number of Canadians, including Aboriginal peoples, who have unemployment rates above those of other Canadians. The CSN is of the view that Aboriginal peoples still continue to face discrimination in employment and shortcomings still remain with regard to education and training. In light of the concerns raised by the CSN, the Committee invites the Government to include information on the impact of the measures taken to increase productive employment opportunities for Aboriginal peoples.

Means to promote employment of other vulnerable workers. In reply to the previous comments, the Government indicates that, to date, 687 Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW) projects have been implemented across provinces and territories, assisting more than 32,230 unemployed older workers. A summative evaluation of the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW) completed in 2014 found that the majority of survey participants (75 per cent) obtained paid employment following participation in TIOW. With respect to persons with disabilities, the Government indicates that approximately 300,000 interventions assist persons with disabilities each year through over 100 programmes, which are designed and delivered by provinces. Budget 2013 announced the introduction of a new generation of Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPDs) to better meet the employment needs of Canadian businesses and improve the employment prospects for persons with disabilities. Budget 2014 reiterated this commitment. Provinces and territories have each committed to produce an evaluation of funded programmes by 2018 with the results of the evaluations to be made public. Moreover, a summative evaluation is being completed on the Opportunities Fund (OF) for persons with disabilities. The Committee notes from the 2014 Jobs Report that, despite their high levels of educational attainment, recent immigrants have weaker labour market outcomes than Canadian-born workers, including higher unemployment rates and lower earnings. With regard to temporary foreign workers, both the CLC and the CSN are concerned that these migrant workers are in a vulnerable situation considering that their temporary residence and work permits are tied to an employment contract with a specific employer. In its reply, the Government states that it is committed to ensuring that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program remains fair and equitable to workers and employers. The Committee invites the Government to continue to include information on the effectiveness of labour market measures regarding older workers, workers with disabilities, immigrants, temporary foreign workers and other vulnerable workers.