Thank you kindly, Mr. Chair.
I am pleased to appear before this committee to discuss the work of my department. As you know, HRSDC has a very broad mission. We interact with Canadians at every stage of their lives.
We also play a key role in ensuring Canada's continued economic success, competitiveness, and long-term prosperity.
Since July 2009, over 820,000 net new jobs have been created in Canada. Now, the hard numbers speak for themselves, but in addition to that, we have over 390,000 more Canadians at work now than compared to the best months we had before the recession. This is really tremendous and should not go unnoticed.
However, as I've said many times, we cannot rest on our laurels.
We're still dealing with high unemployment in some areas, and at the same time we have labour shortages in other areas, sometimes even where there is high unemployment. More acutely, where we're really feeling the pinch is in the mismatch that exists between the needs of employers and the skills and labour that are available to them.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce recently described the skills gap as, and I quote: “the major socio-economic challenge confronting this country”, and frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I agree with them.
The issue is about how to grow in light of an aging population of workers who are now starting to leave the workforce. We are sitting here competing globally for skills and for talent.
Things are only going to get worse if we don't do something about addressing the gap that exists in terms of skilling up our own people.
Let's be clear on something, though. Although we agree with the fact that we have a major issue on our hands in this country, I do not agree that it is the sole responsibility of the federal government to fix it; it can't, nor should it be. Our success will be dependent on the collective ability to be innovative, flexible, and willing to change.
So what are we doing at HRSDC to help? First, we're making changes to the employment insurance program to make it easier for unemployed Canadians to search for and find work. At its core, employment insurance is just that: an insurance program to support Canadians when they're out of work through no fault of their own.
With that support, there has always come the responsibility of being available and actively looking for work.
I've had the opportunity to discuss these changes with Canadians right across the country, and when I or one of my colleagues has that opportunity, it's clear that Canadians do understand that our government wants to make sure that they're better off working than not. They understand that we want to make sure that employers get the workers they need to run their businesses and they understand how important it is that Canadians right here at home always have first crack at job opportunities before a company can ever hire temporary foreign workers.
The changes to the EI program will help us achieve those goals. Think of the measure coming early next year to better connect Canadians with available jobs in their local areas.
The Working While on Claim pilot project also comes to mind. It allows people to keep more of what they earn, when they accept more work while on EI. We believe that these changes will make a difference, while ensuring that the program continues to support Canadians, as it always has, when they need it.
In addition to these changes comes our focus on training. Governments do play an important role in skills and training, no question. In fact, our government gives the provinces and territories $2.7 billion a year for the exact purpose of labour market and skills development programs, but it goes well beyond government at any level.
Partnership is key. Governments, the private sector, and education and training institutions all have a role to play in getting Canadians back to work, diversifying and strengthening our workforce and addressing the skills shortages.
The world has changed, and now there really is no such thing as an unskilled job. That's why my department supports a comprehensive suite of programs ranging from skills development to workplace literacy, from apprenticeship grants to financial aid programs, which have tremendously improved access to post-secondary education.
That takes me to one of my favourite topics, young Canadians, who are by far our greatest human resource in this country. After all, they are our future.
Youth unemployment, although better in Canada than in most countries around the world, sits at double the regular unemployment rate in this country. Why? Because they don't have the skills that employers need. Too many young people are caught in the vicious cycle of no job, no experience—no experience, no job.
That's why we've increased our investment in the national youth employment strategy.
Through Economic Action Plan 2012, we invested an additional $50 million into this strategy to connect young Canadians with jobs that are in high demand.
Our approach will match approximately 3,000 young Canadians with jobs in areas where there's a strong need for workers. It's important that we all take responsibility for guiding our young people and our future workforce.
Whether for skilled trades or other jobs in demand in other sectors, it's clear that Canadians of all ages need to have a better understanding of where the jobs are and what skills are required for them.
That's why in August I officially launched the new sectoral initiatives program. Under this program, critical labour market information will be gathered and made available through the Working in Canada website. Giving people better access to better information will enable employers, workers, and job seekers alike to make better decisions.
Ultimately, Mr. Chair, it comes down to doing things differently.
That leads me to another topic, and it's an exciting one—social finance.
Social finance is a new area for Canada. Earlier this month I launched a call for concepts to solicit ideas on social finance from both individuals and organizations. I wanted ideas on how we can shape future social policy in Canada or identify new partners. I wanted ideas about how we can get better results from our investment of taxpayers' dollars.
Let's be clear: this is not wholesale change. We're exploring at this stage, but this work speaks to exactly what I talked about at the beginning: the need to be creative, innovative, and willing to do things differently if we want or expect to get better results for Canadians.
Mr. Chair, as I conclude, these are just some of the initiatives under way, but they speak to my department's important role in delivering services to Canadians.
We will continue to be focused on these goals in a fiscally prudent way as we work to ensure that all Canadians have an opportunity to share in real results—job creation, economic growth, and long-term prosperity.
Thank you.
I'll now turn to my colleague.
