Evidence of meeting #8 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was asets.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
The Vice-Chair (Ms. Jinny Jogindera Sims) NDP Jinny Sims
The chair apologizes to my esteemed colleague sitting over there. How could I possibly have overlooked—
December 5th, 2013 / 4:10 p.m.
Liberal
NDP
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Phil McColeman's gone.
I know, Chair, that you fought hard for me to get in that first round and I appreciate that.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
I want to apologize to the witnesses. I had to duck out and take a call, so you may have addressed a couple of these items in your remarks. I apologize, but I'd like to get to them anyway.
I want to get to the essence of the LMAs and the aboriginal training provisions within the LMAs.
We had the minister before us last week and he sort of stepped back a little bit. He had made a couple of comments regarding the LMAs, and his direct quote was that the LMAs, the programs that were being funded, allowed people to, and his quote was, “keep receiving a welfare payment”. He sort of stepped back from that comment in his remarks to committee when he did appear. We know from some of the aspects of the documents that were leaked recently that it seems the aspects of those programs did just the opposite.
What evidence or reports do the departments have now, including the one that was leaked, regarding the effectiveness of the LMA as it pertains to training for aboriginal people?
Director General, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
I'm not sure I'm in a position to answer that. I'm not even aware of a leaked document, so that puts me at a bit of a disadvantage.
Our ASETS program is set up very similar to the LMAs and LMDAs. In fact, you could consider it an aboriginal-specific component to that.
Liberal
Director General, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Right, there was recognition of that, and while I don't have it with me, there were a significant number of aboriginal people who accessed service through the LMAs and the LMDAs.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
You have no recollection of any assessments that would have been done from those.
Director General, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Not specifically. It is not my area. I would have to go back to the department to get that specifically. I deal with the LMA folks, but more from an ASETS perspective. I apologize.
Director General, Social Policy and Programs Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
We don't actually have responsibility at all for the LMAs and LMDAs. They are managed by provinces, and it would be through Employment and Social Development Canada, but if you have particular questions, we could endeavour to answer them afterwards.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
All we're trying to do is find out whether or not there were assessments done, if there are some kind of assessments. It's probably similar to what Ms. McLeod was asking. If we're able to measure it, then you can address the problem.
On the implementation of the aboriginal skills and employment training strategy, there's an assessment, at least according to the 2013 departmental performance report. Could you comment on those, or can you make those available to the committee?
Director General, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
By effectiveness, do you mean the results?
Director General, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Right, I can quickly review them if you wish, a bit of an aggregate of—
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
You could do it fairly quickly, a thumbnail sketch.
Could you provide them to the committee as well?
Director General, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Sure. Let me get the right ones here.
To date, under ASETS, around 45,000 people have found employment. A little over 20,000 have returned to schools over the first two and a half to three years of that, which matches the expectations of the program going in. We were anticipating about 14,000 people finding employment on a yearly basis. ASETS has become more efficient over the last three years and is hitting those targets quite effectively.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
This is probably what Jean was asking in the essence of her question. We know that the success ratio of young people in first nations communities pretty much mirrors everybody else's, when they get to a post-secondary institution or training program, but it's that gap in between.
Do you see this gap? It's trying to address the high school success ratio that's key to anything going forward. Would you share that opinion, that it is essential we improve the numbers around high school success numbers?
Director, Strategic Policy and Planning Directorate, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
I think we can definitely say yes. At a 38% graduation rate, that's a lot of missed opportunities for students to be able to participate, to choose the paths that they want to follow. A grade 12 graduation is one of those initial steps to unlocking those opportunities and keys for students, absolutely.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
I know that you said there are factors other than just the funding gap, but the funding gap, when you compare it to non-first nations students in this country, that per capita gap has to play a role.
Director, Strategic Policy and Planning Directorate, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
In fact, if you look at it per capita, there is no funding gap.