Human Resources and Social Development Canada

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Capacity-Building Projects and the International Trade and Labour Program

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

Please be advised that ITLP will not be accepting applications under the stream titled Grants for Technical Assistance and Foreign-Based Cooperative Activities for funding in the fiscal year 2007/2008. Please visit this website regularly for updates regarding the application period for the fiscal year 2008/2009.

Over the 10 years that Canada has been negotiating Labour Cooperation Agreements, the Labour Program has faced increasing requests for technical assistance from its partners in developing countries. Most common are requests for capacity-building projects, such as training workshops or subject-specific seminars aimed at helping the requesting country to modernize its labour policy and administration, with a view to better respecting internationally-recognized core labour standards.

Canada recognizes that meeting requests for capacity-building assistance is important. Since our partners in Labour Cooperation Agreements are required to effectively enforce their domestic labour legislation, and because this legislation should reflect core labour standards, providing technical assistance is a cooperative means of enabling our partners to meet their Agreement obligations. This in turn makes our Agreements more effective. Furthermore, because research indicates that the most successful economies are those that respect core labour standards, capacity-building assistance to this end is key to helping our partners improve their long-term economic performance and social stability.

One way that Canada responds to labour-related capacity-building assistance priorities in partner countries is to include a program of cooperative activities inside Labour Cooperation Agreements. In past years, these programs focused mainly on information exchange between Canada and the partner country, but more recently they have started to include an active capacity-building dimension. Return to the Cooperative Activities section of the pages on the North America Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC), the Canada-Chile Agreement on Labour Cooperation, and the Canada-Costa Rica Agreement on Labour Cooperation to learn more.

A second means of responding to technical assistance requests is through inter-departmental cooperation. For example, the Labour Program is currently partnering with the Canadian International Development Agency to develop a labour capacity-building project that will benefit the Caribbean Community. The details of this project, due to begin in 2006, are still being finalized. Please visit this page again for updates.

A third way by which Canada plans to respond to partner countries’ labour needs is through a new grants and contributions program—the International Trade and Labour Program (ITLP). The ITLP provides eligible delivery agents with funds to carry out labour-related capacity-building projects in countries in the Americas. These are usually connected to a specific Labour Cooperation Agreement, but other projects can be considered. A modest funding stream is also earmarked for Canada-based projects, mainly with respect to advancing social dialogue among government, business, and labour. Please ENTER the ITLP page for a full overview of the ITLP, including how to apply for a ITLP grant or contribution and to see a list of current ITLP projects.