Invest Federal funds in our hard hit communities now - A Labour Market Partners Forum involving labour, business and government should be convened immediately to make recommendations on a wide variety of labour market initiatives and to offer advice on how to allocate the approximately $400 million flowing from the federal government’s “Vulnerable Communities” Assistance Package. This money is desperately needed in our hard hit manufacturing and resource communities now and all labour market partners must be at the table to decide how it can best be spent and to get it to our communities as quickly as possible.

Successful economies have mechanisms to bring together labour market partners to consider broad trends and developments and advise government on appropriate responses and initiatives. Long-term, there is an urgent need for a permanent multi-stakeholder advisory body on labour market development issues, as jurisdictions like Ireland, Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador have introduced.

Filed Under: Jobs