Canadian Government Jobs

The Government of Canada, in partnership with the Government of New Brunswick, will provide new funding to help Edmundston youth gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to enter and succeed in the job market. The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie) and Member of Parliament for Madawaska-Restigouche, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and the Honourable Martine Coulombe, New Brunswick’s Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.

“Our government’s top priority is creating jobs and economic growth,” said Minister of State Valcourt. “Our government’s Youth Employment Strategy is helping youth develop the skills and gain the experience they need to get jobs now and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow.”

The organization Resnet Inc. will receive over $55,000 as part of the Skills Link program to help youth overcome barriers to employment. Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES).

The Government of New Brunswick will provide $135,600 for the project.

“We are proud to contribute to this workforce training project through our employment access programs,” stated Minister Coulombe. “This initiative will also help protect the environment, as the recycling of computer materials will lead to fewer electronic devices being sent to landfills.”

With annual funding of more than $300 million, YES helps youth, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop employment skills, find jobs and stay employed. YES includes the Skills Link and Career Focus programs and the Canada Summer Jobs initiative, which creates thousands of job opportunities for students every summer.

In the 2012 Economic Action Plan, the government proposes an additional 50 million dollars over two years for the Youth Employment Strategy to help more youth acquire practical skills and concrete experience. This investment will serve primarily to connect young Canadians with jobs in fields that are in high demand.

Participants in the Resnet Inc. project will attend workshops that will prepare them for an active life and help them acquire skills that are transferrable to the labour market, such as communications and problem solving. They will then have an opportunity to put those skills into practice through concrete work experience.

Youth employment programs are part of the Government of Canada’s broader strategy to create an educated, skilled and flexible workforce. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

The Government of Canada is helping youth prepare for, find and maintain meaningful employment through enhanced online services available at Youth.gc.ca.

BACKGROUNDER

The Youth Employment Strategy is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace.

Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment, such as single parents, youth with disabilities, and youth in rural and remote areas, to develop the skills and gain the experience needed to find a job or the confidence to return to school.

Career Focus provides funding to employers to hire young post-secondary graduates to give them career-related work experience and help them acquire skills to transition into the job market.

Canada Summer Jobs provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for young people aged 15 to 30 years who are full-time students intending to return to their studies in the next school year.

To learn more about Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy and other youth employment initiatives, please visit Youth.gc.ca.

More than 5,500 federal service employees were notified Wednesday that their jobs are on the line, while unions are accusing the government of making the wrong choices and rushing through the cuts.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said that it was advised that 5,561 of its members in 23 government departments received notices saying they could lose their jobs.

The employees were notified that they are “affected” but layoffs are not guaranteed for all of them, as some may be moved to other departments where there are vacancies.

More than 2,000 of the affected jobs are located in the Ottawa region; 775 are in the Prairies; 236 in the Atlantic region and in Quebec; 222 in British Columbia; and 11 in the North.

Some of the departments with a high number of PSAC members who were notified include:

• Canada Border Services Agency: 1,137
• Health Canada: 715
• Agriculture Canada: 689
• Public Health Agency of Canada: 483
• Canadian International Development Agency: 534
• Citizenship and Immigration: 339
• Canadian Heritage: 258
• Veterans Affairs: 261
• Environment: 137

“Never in the PSAC history have we seen so many notices issued so quickly after the release of a federal budget,” John Gordon, PSAC president, said at a news conference. “The government is rushing these cuts through without telling Canadians what they will mean for public services.”

But Treasury Board President Tony Clement, who led the operating review over the last year that resulted in the cuts contained in the March 29 budget, defended the government’s measures.

“We do try to be fair,” Clement said Wednesday. “We understand this is a difficult process for some people who are losing their employment, and at the end of the day it is still the right thing to do. But we have to be fair about it, and we certainly will adhere to the rules that are in place.

“We have a responsibility to spend within our means.”

Clement’s director of communications, Jenn Gearey, wrote in an email that the unions appear opposed to “common sense changes,” and that contrary to their claims that they weren’t consulted, they were asked for input.

“As we have conveyed repeatedly, we sought input from unions when we embarked on our savings exercise but none responded,” she said.

Read full story at CBC here.

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today tabled Economic Action Plan 2012, a comprehensive agenda to bolster Canada’s long-term economic strengths and promote job growth.

“In this budget, our Government is looking ahead not only over the next few years but also over the next generation,” said Minister Flaherty. “The reforms we present today are substantial, responsible and necessary. They will ensure that all across government we are focused on enabling and sustaining Canada’s long-term economic growth.”

Economic Action Plan 2012 takes important steps to address the challenges and help take advantage of the opportunities of the global economy, while ensuring sustainable social programs and sound public finances for future generations.

Supporting Jobs and Opportunities

The Government is focused on boosting economic growth and job creation—innovation, investment, education and skills. Economic Action Plan 2012 will support jobs and growth by:

• Making major investments of over $1 billion to support science and technology.
• Providing $500 million to spur the growth of innovative start-up companies.
• Ensuring responsible resource development by moving to “one project, one review” within a clearly defined time period for major economic projects while continuing to protect the environment.
• Opening new markets and expanding international trade, bringing Canadian goods to the world.
• Extending the Hiring Credit for Small Business for one year to make it more attractive for small businesses to grow and hire more workers.
• Providing $150 million over two years for the new Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund.
• Providing $5.2 billion over 11 years to renew the Canadian Coast Guard.
• Better focusing Employment Insurance on promoting job creation by removing disincentives to work and supporting unemployed Canadians by connecting them more quickly to jobs.
• Providing $275 million over three years to support First Nations education and build and renovate schools on reserve.
• Building a fast and flexible economic immigration system to attract immigrants with the skills and experience our economy needs.

Sustainable Social Programs

In order to ensure Canada’s social programs are there for when future generations need them, we are taking responsible action to prepare today for long-term demographic pressures. To this end, Economic Action Plan 2012 will:

• Gradually increase the age of eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits from 65 to 67, starting in April 2023, to be fully implemented by 2029.
• Allow Canadians to defer the take-up of their OAS pensions so they can receive a higher pension later.
• Put in place a proactive enrolment regime for OAS and GIS to reduce the burden on seniors of completing application processes and reduce the Government’s administrative costs. Proactive enrolment will be implemented in a phased-in approach from 2013 to 2015.

Responsible Expenditure Management

Economic Action Plan 2012 is our plan for jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. An important part of our low-tax, low-debt plan is returning to a balanced budget in the medium term. Over the past year, we have found fair, balanced and moderate savings measures to reduce the deficit. These measures will achieve ongoing savings of $5.2 billion, representing less than 2.0 per cent of expected federal program spending in 2016–17. Over 70 per cent of the savings found are in operational efficiencies.

“We will stay on course, to keep creating high-quality jobs and long-term economic growth for Canadians,” said Minister Flaherty. “We will not raise taxes. We will maintain our consistent, pragmatic and responsible approach to the economy, and take the necessary next steps to build confidence in our future.”