Question Period Note: UNION LED ADVISORY TABLE

What action is the federal government taking to ensure the perspectives of workers are considered when determining how best to support those impacted by the changing labour market?

• Budget 2022 announced the creation of a new Union-Led Advisory Table to inform efforts to help workers make the transition to the jobs and sectors that need them.
• In December 2023, the Union-Led Advisory Table was launched and will provide recommendations on how best to support workers affected by change, including skilled, mid-career workers in at-risk sectors and jobs.
• The Advisory Table will engage with stakeholders and subject matter experts to provide advice informed by a wide range of perspectives that reflect Canada’s workforce and workplaces.

• It will also provide advice on how to support diversity and inclusion in skills development and address existing barriers for equity-seeking groups.
• The Advisory Table will complete its work October 2024 and will share its findings soon after.

• Several macro-trends are affecting Canadian workers and employers, including an aging population, changes in technology, the adoption of artificial intelligence, and efforts to address climate change.
• The OECD estimated in 2019 that 4 of 10 Canadian jobs were at significant or high risk of automation.
• In 2021, 45% of Canadian businesses surveyed by Statistics Canada reported difficulties in finding candidates who possessed the skills they needed for their jobs.
• The creation of this Advisory Table provides a unique opportunity to collect the perspectives of workers on these key emerging issues, gaps in current supports, and ideas for how to better help workers prepare for and manage work opportunities.
• More specifically, the Advisory Table is being asked to provide advice on action to be taken to:

o help mid-career workers, particularly those in at-risk sectors and jobs, access and take part in training and help them transition to jobs in-demand
o respond to the needs of workers in jobs and industries facing changes and disruptions
o promote continuous skills development for workers throughout their working lives
o support diversity and inclusion in Canadian workplaces and address barriers for equity-deserving groups to get jobs and advance in their careers
o help workers transition to retirement with dignity

• The work of the Advisory Table will contribute to ESDC’s core responsibility for Learning, Skills Development and Employment, and specifically to “Canadians participat[ing] in an inclusive and efficient labour market.”
• This initiative builds on whole-of-government priorities such as work that is being led by Natural Resources Canada on Sustainable Jobs, and that has been undertaken by the Future Skills Council on emerging skills and workforce trends.

Membership

• The Advisory Table consists of 15 labour leaders, including a Chair, from across Canada. Members were selected based on their knowledge of labour market issues, including a focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, and their leadership within their communities and beyond.
• Members will meet several times over the coming months and conclude their mandate in Fall 2024.

Members
• Bea Bruske (Chair), President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
• Mariam Abou-Dib, Executive Director, Teamsters Canada
• Rob Ashton, President, International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU-Canada)
• Bert Blundon, President, National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE)
• Patrick Campbell, Canadian Regional Director, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
• David Chartrand, Canadian General Vice-President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
• Roxanne Dubois, Director of Strategic Planning, Unifor
• Meg Gingrich, Assistant to the National Director, United Steel Workers (USW)
• Mark Hancock, National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
• Julien Laflamme, Political Advisor to the executive committee, Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)
• Magali Picard, President, Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ)
• Linda Silas, President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU)
• Sharleen Stewart, President, SEIU Healthcare
• Sean Strickland, Executive Director, Canada's Building Trades Unions (CBTU)
• Matt Wayland, Canadian Director of Government Relations, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)

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