The Government of Canada offers programs and initiatives supporting workers and the unemployed. Some of these include:
Apprenticeship Grants
Apprentices in designated Red Seal trades can receive up to $4,000 in grants to pay for tuition, travel, tools, and other expenses.
Wage Earner Protection Program
The Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP) provides guaranteed and timely compensation to workers for unpaid wages, vacation pay, severance and termination pay earned in the six months preceding an employer bankruptcy or receivership.
Tax Relief to Certification Examinations
The federal government is helping apprentices in the skilled trades and workers in regulated professions by making occupational, trade, and professional examination fees eligible for the Tuition Tax Credit.
Targeted Initiative for Older Workers
The Targeted Initiative for Older Workers is a federal-provincial-territorial employment program that provides a range of employment activities for unemployed older workers in vulnerable communities with populations of less than 250,000 to help them stay in the workforce.
Work-Sharing
Work-Sharing is designed to help companies facing a temporary slowdown in business to avoid lay-offs, by offering Employment Insurance (EI) income support to employees willing to work a reduced work week while their employer recovers.
Strengthening Health Care in Rural and Remote Communities
Starting in 2012–13, practising family physicians will be eligible for federal Canada Student Loan forgiveness of up to $8,000 per year to a maximum of $40,000. Nurse practitioners and nurses will be eligible for federal Canada Student Loan forgiveness of up to $4,000 per year to a maximum of $20,000.
Hiring Credit for Small Business
The federal government is extending for one year the Hiring Credit for Small Business of up to $1,000 against a small employer's increase in its 2012 EI premiums over those paid in 2011.
Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit
The federal government has introduced a Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit in recognition of the critical role volunteer firefighters play in serving their communities.
The Helmets to Hardhats Program
This initiative connects releasing Canadian Forces members and veterans with career opportunities in the construction industry.