Government of Canada announces support to facilitate interprovincial labour mobility - February 1997

OTTAWA The Honourable Pierre S. Pettigrew, Minister of Human Resources Development, today announced the availability of financial assistance for occupational regulatory bodies to help them remove interprovincial barriers to the mobility of workers. As highlighted in the February 1996 Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada supports labour mobility and is actively working with the provinces and other partners to reduce or eliminate remaining barriers to labour mobility.

Under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT), occupational regulatory bodies are required to assess their legislation and regulations to ensure they do not impose barriers to labour mobility. These regulatory bodies are responsible for setting licensing and certification requirements for over 50 professional and technical occupations in Canada including engineers, architects, accountants, lawyers, doctors and nurses.

"As Co-chair of the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, I am committed to working with our provincial and territorial partners to achieve a successful implementation of the AIT and to bring down the remaining barriers to labour mobility," said Minister Pettigrew. "I believe that supporting activities to recognize skills acquired by people in another province or territory and to reconcile occupational standards, is a sound investment that will benefit Canadians and strengthen our economic and social union." For Canadians, the AIT is intended to improve access to employment opportunities in other provinces and territories.

Funding for activities by regulatory bodies to recognize qualifications of workers and to reconcile differences in occupational standards will come through Human Resources Development Canada's (HRDC) Sectoral Partnership Initiative (SPI). SPI helps various groups to address human resource issues by supporting sectoral partnerships among labour market stakeholders. The program brings together representatives from business, labour and education to resolve human resource challenges on a sector-by-sector basis.

Some activities called for under the Labour Mobility Chapter of AIT involve discussions among those who regulate occupations and others to address interprovincial mobility issues. Activities associated with these discussions may be funded up to 50 per cent of the eligible costs under the SPI's National Sectoral Adjustment Services component.

The current announcement will complement HRDC involvement with other occupations. The department is already supporting activities aimed at interprovincial mobility for workers in trades occupations through the Interprovincial Standards Program.

This investment falls within the fiscal framework set in the March 1996 budget . It reflects the Government of Canada's commitment to establish spending priorities that will best serve Canadians through the most efficient use of tax dollars.

Backgrounder : Sectoral Partnership Initiative Support for Labour Mobility

For more information:

Cynthia Waugh
Human Resources Development Canada
(819) 994-4453

Mario Rondeau
Human Resources Development Canada
(819) 953-0131
E-mail: mario.rondeau@hrdc-drhc.gc.ca

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