Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

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

The Committee notes the observations made by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), received on 31 August 2017 and later transmitted with the Government’s report together with the observations of the Quebec Employers’ Council (CPQ).

Article 1 of the Convention. Education and training programmes. In reply to the Committee’s comments of 2014, the Government indicates that the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) works towards ensuring that all Canadians, including those in the most vulnerable situations, can access skills training and support. With this objective, 27 million Canadian dollars (CAD) are allocated each year to fund federal projects that complement those implemented in the provinces. The Government adds that in Budget 2016 it provided an additional CAD125 million in 2016–17 under the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) to the provinces and territories to ensure that the unemployed can access the training and support they need to develop their professional skills and pursue opportunities for a better future. During the fiscal year 2015–16, 225 organizations supported essential skills training development and over 14,000 persons accessed essential skills support. In its observations, the CLC expresses concern that the budget was deficient in several areas in relation to the promotion of training, including in not providing for restoration of unspent funding for literacy programmes. The CLC also expresses concern at the creation (announced in Budget 2017) of a new organization for investing in skills innovation to encourage skills development and measurement, in which no role is assigned to the social partners. The Committee notes that Budget 2018 contemplates the implementation of a new Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program, in partnership with provinces, territories, post secondary institutions, training providers, unions and employers, with the objective of encouraging under-represented groups, including women, indigenous people, newcomers to Canada and persons with disabilities, to explore careers in the skilled trades. Finally, the Committee notes the range of programmes and services provided by the different provinces to those in need of skills and workplace training. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to coordinate education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities and on the impact of such measures. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the social partners and other stakeholders concerned are consulted with respect to the development of education and vocational training programmes that meet the anticipated needs of the labour market.

Promotion of women’s employment. The Committee notes that, according to the 2018 Budget, Canadian women are less likely to participate in the labour force, and once employed are more likely to be in part-time jobs. According to the cited report, in January 2018, only 61 per cent of women were participating in the economy, compared to 70 per cent of men. Women between the ages of 25 to 54 are three times more likely to be in part-time jobs than men, often due to caregiving responsibilities. In this regard, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern regarding the persistent gender wage gap in Canada, which is present in both the private and the public sectors; the continuing horizontal and vertical occupation segregation and the concentration of women in part-time and low-paid jobs, and their low representation in managerial positions; the lack of affordable childcare facilities and the low uptake of parental leave by fathers. CEDAW further noted that Indigenous, Afro-Canadian, migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and women with disabilities have limited access to the labour market (CEDAW/C/CAN/CO/8-9, 25 November 2016, paragraph 38, subparagraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d)). The Committee notes the measures envisaged under the 2018 Budget to promote the increased participation of women in the labour market, such as an investment of CAD7.5 billion over 11 years to create more high-quality and affordable childcare spaces and to make it more affordable for parents of both sexes to return to work. Referring to its 2017 comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the active labour market measures taken or envisaged to address both the gender pay gap and the persistence of occupational segregation on the basis of sex (both vertical and horizontal) as well as to increase the labour force participation rate of women in the formal labour market, particularly of women belonging to disadvantaged groups such as indigenous women, Afro-Canadian women, migrant and refugee women, female asylum seekers and women with disabilities, among others.

Youth employment. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide an evaluation of labour market measures targeting young persons. The Government reports on the expansion of the Youth Employment Strategy (YES), which consists of three programmes: Skills Links, Career Focus and Canada Summer Jobs. The objective of YES is to assist young people aged 15 to 30 (especially those facing barriers to employment) in accessing needed information and acquiring the skills and work experience required to make a successful transition into the labour market. The Committee notes that the Economic Action Plan 2015 called for YES to be improved by providing young persons with more practical and real-life work experience, including through providing internships in highly demanded fields, such as science, technology or engineering, and to help young people make more informed career choices. In 2016, the Government committed to investing CAD1.3 billion over three years to create jobs and opportunities for young Canadians. Budget 2016 provided for the creation of an Expert Panel on Youth Employment to examine the barriers that young Canadians, especially those in vulnerable situations, including indigenous youth, immigrant youth and young persons with disabilities, face in finding and keeping jobs. The Panel was also tasked with examining innovative practices to improve the employment prospects of young people. Following consultations with young people themselves, employers, community organizations and service providers, the Panel issued a set of recommendations in its 2017 report, calling for, inter alia: enhancing YES to target those who need it most and make it less onerous for employers and service providers; focusing on indigenous youth in partnership with indigenous communities; rethinking the delivery of youth employment programming, including by examining the feasibility of devolving federal youth employment programming to provincial and territorial governments; setting goals for and reporting on the proportion of new hires 18 to 29 years of age, with a focus on hiring youth in rural and remote areas, where the Government is a large employer; convening a round table of multi sectoral employers to establish corporate hiring goals that include a special focus on disadvantaged youth that are not in education, employment, or training (NEET); and updating Canada’s labour legislation to take account of the changing nature of work and extend protection and benefits to young workers in non-standard forms of employment. In Budget 2017, the Government committed to invest an additional CAD395.5 million in YES over the next three years. These investments are intended to help young persons in vulnerable situations develop skills to find work or go back to school, as well as creating green jobs and jobs in the heritage sector for young Canadians. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Youth Employment, as well as on the impact of the improvements introduced in the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) in increasing opportunities for young people to access full, productive, freely chosen and sustainable employment.

Indigenous peoples. In reply to the Committee’s 2014 comments, the Government refers to the implementation of the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS). The Committee notes that, according to the information available on the Government’s website, the ASETS was due to end on 31 March 2018. To prepare for its renewal and ensure that future labour market programming meets the needs of indigenous people, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development Labour held consultations with national indigenous organizations, ASETS agreement holders, provinces and territories, industries, and academic institutions. Through the consultation process, the participants stressed that ASETS had many strengths, but also suffered from lingering gaps that prevented indigenous people from accessing the labour market, including no provision for needed childcare spaces, the lack of funding and resources necessary to support people with disabilities and insufficient flexibility to support post-secondary education. During the consultations, it was agreed that new programming should better address underlying socioeconomic barriers to the employment of indigenous people, such as lack of education and limited economic opportunities. The Government indicates that policy drafting was under way to develop a new indigenous labour market strategy, to be implemented in April 2018. The Committee also notes the set of measures implemented in the provinces to promote access to the labour market of indigenous peoples through “training to employment” programmes, such as in Alberta, the Aboriginal Training for Employment Program (ATEP), the First Nations Training to Employment (FNTEP), the Canada-Alberta Job Grant (CAJG), and the Employment Partnership Programme (EPP). The Committee nevertheless observes that, according to Statistics Canada, in 2017 the employment rate of the indigenous population aged 15 years or over was 57.1 per cent, compared with 61.7 per cent among the non indigenous population. Moreover, while the unemployment rate among the indigenous population was 11.3 per cent, it was almost half (6.2 per cent) among the non-indigenous population. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information on the renewal of the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) and on any other measures taken to promote productive employment opportunities for indigenous people, as well as on the impact of such measures.

Migrant workers. The Committee refers to its 2017 comments under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), with regard to legislative, regulatory and administrative changes made between 2012 and 2015 to improve protections for temporary migrant workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP). The Committee notes the 2016 TFWP report elaborated by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, which provides recommendations to improve the TFWP, following consultations with a broad range of actors, such as workers’ and employers’ organizations and temporary workers. According to the cited report, migrant workers continue to suffer from labour standards violations. The CLC highlights the findings of the 2016 TFWP report, which indicates that various programme-related factors were contributing to abuses and perpetuated the precarious position of migrant workers, including employer-specific work permits tying workers to one employer. The Committee of the House of Commons recommended that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) take immediate steps to eliminate the employer-specific work permit. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved towards the elimination of the requirement for an employer-specific work permit. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to guarantee the access of migrant workers to decent jobs.

Persons with disabilities. In reply to the 2014 Committee’s comments, the Government refers to the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, which offers a range of tailored activities for persons with disabilities to support them in preparing for, obtaining, and remaining in employment or self-employment, with a view to increasing their economic participation and independence. The Opportunities Fund served 4,509 persons from 2015 to 2016, of which 3,133 acquired skills enhancing their employability, 1,950 found employment and 289 returned to school. The Government adds that the Skills Link programme under YES targets youth who face increased barriers to employment, including young people with disabilities. According to the 2015 Horizontal Summative Evaluation of YES for the Skills Link programme, persons with disabilities reduced their reliance on employment insurance benefits by CAD61 and on social assistance by CAD601, and experienced a modest net gain in their earnings of CAD0.7 following Skills Links interventions from 2003 to 2006. The Government reports that, in the framework of the Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities, there were over 350,000 interventions provided through more than 115 programmes delivered by the provinces. The Committee notes that in its concluding observations, the Committee on the Right of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) expressed concern at the high number of persons with disabilities who are unemployed and at the lack of programmes aimed at preserving the jobs of persons with disabilities during periods of economic crisis. The CPRD also expressed concerns regarding the lack of strategies to promote access to the open labour market for persons with disabilities, in particular for women and young persons with disabilities (CRPD/C/CAN/CO/1, 8 May 2017, paragraph 47). The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by age, sex and region, on the measures adopted or envisaged to promote access to the open labour market for workers with disabilities, including women and young persons with disabilities, and on the impact of such measures.

Older workers. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the effectiveness of labour market measures regarding older workers. The Government reports that under the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW), 123 projects were implemented, benefiting 4,089 unemployed older workers. The TIOW expired on 31 March 2017. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the employment situation of older workers, including information on the impact of the measures adopted to promote and increase opportunities for decent jobs for older women and men workers.