96
97
CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - OCTOBER 2013
of the controversy surrounding the
way the Canada Job Grant is being
implemented. Particularly in the past
few weeks, the provinces and territo-
ries have renewed the calls they made
earlier in the summer at the Council
of the Federation for the Grant to be
revised or even scrapped. At the same
time, we have seen statements coming
from Minister Kenney’s office that in-
dicate the federal government will be
moving full speed ahead on this initia-
tive over the coming fall and winter.
It would appear we have a show-
down coming between the two levels
of government. The provinces don’t
like that they were not consulted be-
fore the Canada Job Grant was an-
nounced in Budget 2013; they argue
that through the Grant the federal
government is dictating training and
educational policy, an area of provin-
cial jurisdiction; and they worry about
the future of existing provincial skills
development programming given that
much of the funding for the Grant
comes via revisions to the FPT Labour
Market Agreements, which are set to
expire in 2014.
It is not my intention here to
weigh in on the jurisdictional element
of the disagreement, but I will say that,
provincial protestations notwithstand-
ing, the Canada Job Grant does de-
serve to be supported and implement-
ed.
This is because the one thing the
diverse industry groups mentioned
above share on this issue is a recogni-
tion that the Canada Job Grant offers
something new: it gives a chance for
the job creators and drivers of the Ca-
nadian economy to have a direct say in
training and skills development, better
ensuring that the job market will re-
spond to emerging employment needs.
Employers are on the front line
of Canada’s economic development.
When they see trends emerging that
require different or expanded skill sets
from their employees, they want solu-
tions in weeks or months, not years.
Rather than waiting for government
bureaucracy to catch up, the Canada
Job Grant allows employers to come to
the government and say “this is where
we need to focus now.”
This is a benefit of the Grant that
outweighs any drawbacks raised thus
far. Ultimately, the money that has
been transferred from the federal gov-
ernment to the provinces through the
Labour Market Agreements is taxpayer
money first and foremost, and from
that perspective the arguments over
jurisdiction are largely academic.
What matters is that the money
taxpayers have provided to our gov-
ernments be well-spent. There cer-
tainly are worthy provincial programs
funded through the Labour Market
Agreements, but then there are others
that are not so effective. Budgetary
room should be found to maintain the
best and most effective provincial pro-
grams while still allowing for the roll-
out of the Canada Job Grant.
Before concluding I must add that
my personal experience as CEO of the
National Association of Career Col-
leges has given me an insight into one
of the more common criticisms of the
Canada Job Grant: the argument that
many companies, especially small- and
medium-sized enterprises, lack the
capacity to provide training to their
employees under the Grant. My an-
swer to this criticism is simply to point
out that many career colleges and no
doubt other educational institutions
would be happy to develop program-
ming and curricula that is tailored to
the needs of employers. Educators
have an important role to play in the
development of a skilled workforce,
and I would be remiss if I did not
make mention of that fact here.
With this in mind, it is my hope
that provincial and territorial leaders
will find ways of working with the
federal government on this important
issue. When the feds highlight their
commitment to the Grant on October
16
th, I encourage our leadership at all
levels to work together and ensure that
the Canada Job Grant is a success.
NACC
