Evidence of meeting #15 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was projects.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
5:15 p.m.
Acting Director General, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
If I understand the question correctly, it's whether these delays cause problems in the actual administration of the projects. At this point it would be too early to tell. I imagine in that instance that it has been a challenge for the particular proponents of the project. Time will tell whether there has been a negative impact. I would say that we have a number of projects that have already gone out and have been accepted. With a competitive process such as this, this may just be one of the things that is in place.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Manon Perreault NDP Montcalm, QC
Let me go back to the Connexion compétences program, which assists Aboriginal youth and young people with disabilities. The goal of the program is to improve the skills young people need to participate in the job market.
Basically, do the people who use Connexion compétences get back on the job market or do they return to school?
5:15 p.m.
John Atherton Director General, Active Employment Measures, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Are you talking about Skills Link? Is that the program you are talking about?
5:15 p.m.
Director General, Active Employment Measures, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Are you talking about the Skills Link program?
5:15 p.m.
Director General, Active Employment Measures, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
It must be the program I'm thinking of.
5:15 p.m.
Director General, Active Employment Measures, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
What was the question again?
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Manon Perreault NDP Montcalm, QC
In my riding, we hear a lot about Skills Link.
Do young people return to work or do they return to school? That's all I'm asking.
5:15 p.m.
Director General, Active Employment Measures, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
That's a good question.
Our work with youth at risk, through the skills link program, is primarily targeted at young people who are not in school and not in employment; usually, they haven't graduated from high school. Our results from our evaluation generally show that we get I think about 30% returns to school and about an equal percentage on returns to work out of our projects. But what I could do is get the exact figures from our program evaluation. We did complete one recently.
We get reasonably good results. We were quite pleased with the results. They were far better than those for young people who received no courses, those kids who didn't get the skills link program. The participants in our program had a significant difference in both returns to school and returns to work.
We have both objectives in the program, because for some young people the return to school is the right thing, and for others it's attachment to work. We have a very flexible approach in our projects.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Komarnicki
You can go ahead. I know that when you get very specific to the programs, it starts to come outside the scope of the study, but go ahead.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Manon Perreault NDP Montcalm, QC
There are specialized workshops in my riding, in Mascouche. After young people complete the Skills Link program, do all the organizations follow up with them or is there no follow-up once the program ends?
5:20 p.m.
Director General, Active Employment Measures, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Let me look into it.
I am going to check and send you the answer.
5:20 p.m.
Director General, Active Employment Measures, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Yes.
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Ed Komarnicki
Thank you.
You have about 30 seconds. Did you want to use that time or not?
5:20 p.m.
Conservative
Brad Butt Conservative Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to all of you for being here this afternoon. We appreciate it.
Of course the main reason we're here today, and why the committee has agreed to pursue this study, is based on some of the recommendations in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce report. One of the areas they identified where they have some concern or where they think we can all do a better job is with respect to regulatory red tape. I was in the private sector before I came here, and depending on who you talk to, the definition of red tape is different.
What I'm wondering is whether we are doing the absolute best we can—the three departments that are represented here—to administer things and lower the regulatory and red tape burden when we're trying to get businesses to partner with us in running programs and building businesses in these remote and rural communities. Do you have any recommendations in specific areas in each of your departments where we could be doing a better job of reducing the red tape or regulatory burdens that businesses might be claiming are impediments to greater success in these programs?
Whichever department wants to start is fine with me, Mr. Chair.
5:20 p.m.
Director General, Policy and Coordination Branch, Lands and Economic Development Sector, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
I can start.
I would kind of deconstruct the question a little bit. There is one question around the on-reserve situation with regulations and legislation, that kind of thing, but then there is probably a broader issue to do with resource development and other things that probably extend beyond the scope, certainly, of aboriginal affairs, but also maybe the other departments here as well.
NRCan is responsible for the major projects management office. As well, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency also has a major projects office, and I am aware that there's been a lot of work done to try to deal with some of the regulatory processes. Environment Canada also has a role to play, obviously, in environmental assessments, so that might be an avenue you may wish to pursue.
With respect to the on-reserve situation, I think it has been well documented that the Indian Act is probably one of the most successful pieces of anti-business legislation ever devised, and we're trying to look at ways to try to work outside the Indian Act. Things like the First Nations Land Management Act and the First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act are vehicles we are trying to use to provide the same types of legislative and regulatory predictability that you would expect in an economy off reserve. You simply don't have the strength or the breadth of regulation and legislation or rules that you would take for granted off reserve.
To go back to Mr. McColeman's question, if I may, which is kind of related, an important distinction to be made when you're looking at remote communities is the differentiation. Janet mentioned it as well. It is really important to look historically at where remote communities came from. Some remote communities came from economic development, and that is why they're remote now, because maybe the economic development has passed them by. But most first nations communities were not driven by economic development. It's not an economic development phenomenon to put 1,000 people into a fly-in community.
You have to recognize a bit of the historical context of where the remote communities come from in terms of looking at what kinds of solutions are best, or how the solutions can be tailored to the types of situations different types of remote communities find themselves in.
5:20 p.m.
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
One type of work we can mention that we tried to make some progress on to reduce red tape would be the work we do around the grants and contributions modernization that is going on. Basically, we tried to simplify the application and have an online application for the future, and also we've reviewed what would be the requirement in terms of reporting to the department for grants and contributions to be a lot more based on risk. Basically, that's what we're trying to do.
