On Parliament Hill

Our Government remains focused on what matters to Canadians: creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. Many employers and job seekers agree that there are too many people without jobs and too many jobs without people. The goal of our Jobs Agenda is to fix this problem.

We have been working with the provinces and territories to deliver the Canada Job Grant, an innovative, employer-driven approach to help Canadians gain the skills and training they need to fill available jobs.

The new Canada Apprentice Loan, for instance, offers up to $4,000 interest-free per period of Red Seal technical training. We will continue to provide further support to youth by offering tax credits, such as the tuition, education and textbook tax credits, the tradesperson’s tools deduction and the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit. September 2014 marked 500,000 apprenticeship grants issued to help young Canadians pursue careers in the skilled trades, a significant milestone in our Government’s Jobs Agenda.

In the coming months, two new innovative online tools will be launched: the Career Choice Tool and an enhanced Job Match service. The Career Choice tool will provide more and better information on the benefits of working in various occupations and promote good careers in such high-demand fields as science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the skilled trades. The Job Match service will connect unemployed Canadians with employers in their region who are seeking workers with their skill set.

We are also introducing a new generation of Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities to improve employment prospects for Canadians with disabilities which also meets the needs of Canadian businesses. By renewing and expanding the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers initiative, we are helping older workers in communities with tighter labour markets develop the skills needed to fill vacant jobs.

Additionally, our Government also launched a new Panel on Employment Challenges of New Canadians as part of the action plan to improve foreign credential recognition for internationally trained professionals. As of 2014, we continue to provide financial support to improve credential recognition in 24 target occupations that represent over 80 percent of newcomers. This financial support includes a microloans pilot project to help internationally trained workers cover the cost of having their credentials recognized, benefiting more than 1,400 skilled newcomers.

Canada needs strong economic leadership, and that’s exactly what our Conservative Government is delivering. We will continue to work hard on behalf of Canadian families and our Jobs Agenda will help ensure that Canadians have the skills and training needed in the labour market of today and in the years ahead.