Human Resources Committee on March 28th, 2022

[The Chair (Mr. Robert Morrissey (Egmont, Lib.)), Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 15 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

Today's meeting is again taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of November 25, with members appearing either in person in the room, or remotely using the Zoom application. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. The webcast will always show the person speaking, rather than the entirety of the committee.

Given the ongoing pandemic situation, and in light of the recommendations from health authorities, as well as the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, all those attending in person shall follow the outlined protocols. As chair, I will be enforcing these measures for the duration of the meeting, and I thank members in advance for their co-operation.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few rules to follow. Members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of either the floor, English or French. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately and we will ensure interpretation is properly restored before resuming the proceedings. The “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the screen can be used at any time if you wish to speak or alert the chair. For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in a committee room. Keep in mind the Board of Internal Economy's guidelines for mask use and health protocols.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. Those in the room, your microphone will be controlled by the proceedings and verification officer. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute. This assists the interpreters to properly translate. I remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair. With regard to a speaking list, the clerk and I will endeavour to maintain a proper speaking list.

We are meeting today, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), on the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, February 3, 2022, that the committee resume its study of labour shortages, working conditions and the care economy.

I would like to welcome our witnesses to begin our discussion with five minutes of opening remarks followed by questions. As an individual, we have Naomi Lightman, assistant professor of sociology, University of Calgary. From Polytechnics Canada, we have Sarah Watts-Rynard, chief executive officer, and Matthew Henderson, director of policy. From Statistics Canada, we have Josée Bégin, director general, labour market, education and socio-economic well-being; and Vincent Dale, director, centre for labour market information.

I would ask the witnesses to keep their remarks within the five minutes or less timeline.

Dr. Lightman, you have the floor.

[Naomi Lightman, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Calgary, As an Individual]

Thank you for the invitation to testify for this important study.

My area of research expertise is in care work and its intersections with gender, race and immigration status.

The focus of my testimony will be on how we can best improve working conditions in the care economy to better meet the needs of the often exploited women who provide care for our vulnerable seniors, children and people with disabilities.

To begin, I'll note that a large body of research conclusively demonstrates that the care economy is distinctive. My research finds that across wealthy nations, care work is devalued both socially and economically. People working in care, such as personal support workers, health care aids and child care workers, are doing jobs that we consider “3D”: dirty, difficult and dangerous. These are jobs that most Canadians have no interest in doing, yet these workers are paid significantly less than others doing comparable work. This low pay is in part because the jobs are often associated with “women's work” and because care work is often thought to be unimportant, low skill or marginal.

We know that Canada's care economy overwhelmingly comprises women of colour. By most estimates, in Canada, over 90% of these workers are women. It is specifically racialized immigrant women who are doing these jobs—in particular, Filipina and Black women. Care workers are especially vulnerable due to the frontline nature of their employment as well as their gender, citizenship status, race and/or class.

My recent report, conducted in conjunction with the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association and the Parkland Institute, focused on the impacts of the pandemic on health care aids working in long-term care. We interviewed 25 immigrant women health care aids who detailed how the pandemic had exacerbated their financial insecurity and increased their physical and mental distress at work. They also spoke about their systematic exclusion from institutional decision-making processes.

I will now provide six recommendations for how to best improve working conditions in the care economy.

I do not wish to get involved in the discussion of federalism in Canada and I'm certainly not an expert in federalism, but these recommendations focus on how the government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, could better fill Canada's labour market needs and protect these essential care workers.

First, given the overrepresentation of immigrant workers within caring occupations, there is a need to streamline processes of credential recognition for care workers and reduce the associated costs so they can work in the jobs for which they were trained in their home countries. As it stands, care workers are overwhelmingly trained as licenced practical nurses or nurse practitioners, but they end up working in jobs as personal support workers because of the practical difficulty of transferring their credentials.

Second, given widespread and growing shortages in health care occupations in Canada, there is a need to further prioritize caring jobs in Canada's immigration point selection system.

Third, there is a need to ensure higher wages and pay equity within care occupations. The pandemic has highlighted how essential these jobs are, yet they remain low wage and precarious. This means raising hourly wages and ensuring proper employment equity standards.

Fourth, there is a need to increase physical and mental health benefits and supports for care workers and their families. These families experience high levels of burnout and distress, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic. At the provincial level, this means implementing guaranteed paid sick days. At the federal level, it means supporting access to affordable child care, mental health supports and affordable dental and pharmacare.

Fifth, in collaboration with provinces, there is a need to ensure that privately operated long-term care and other health care operators do not pay care workers lower wages with fewer benefits than public operators. As well, there is a need to legislate higher staff-to-resident ratios in health care settings and a need to reduce or eliminate the use of casual employees and temp agencies in favour of full-time, permanent work in the care economy.

Sixth, and finally, there is a need to ensure that the voices of care workers are included in all decision-making processes within the care economy going forward, moving away from top-down decision-making processes.

I'm happy to speak to any of this further, either in the rounds of questioning that follow or in follow-up with any members of the committee.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Dr. Lightman.

Next we will hear from Polytechnics Canada.

Madam Watts-Rynard, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Sarah Watts-Rynard, Chief Executive Officer, Polytechnics Canada]

Thank you.

Good morning, Mr. Chair and honourable members. I appreciate the opportunity to address you as part of this important study on labour shortages, particularly as they impact Canada's caring economy.

I come to this topic as the CEO at Polytechnics Canada, a not-for-profit association representing 13 research-intensive, publicly funded polytechnics and institutes of technology. Collectively, our members provide education and training to more than 375,000 learners each year.

Polytechnics provide industry-aligned programming that builds in real-world experience to ensure that graduates enter the labour market ready to hit the ground running. Our members offer a breadth of credentials across sectors in high demand, including four-year bachelor's degrees, diplomas and graduate certificates.

Frankly, Canada's polytechnics train the vast majority of workers in the caring economy. This includes practical nurses, respiratory therapists, veterinary technicians, personal support workers, early learning professionals, dental hygienists and many others. Their close relationships with employers in these sectors also mean that polytechnics are leaders in the delivery of upskilling and re-skilling opportunities, including professional development and micro-credentials.

During the pandemic, this has included training to administer COVID-19 vaccines and short courses for nurses to enhance their urgent-care skills. The training offered by polytechnics is responsive and relevant, flexing as new requirements emerge. Because skill shortages tend to be urgent by the time anyone is talking about them, this ability to develop and deliver training quickly, whether to students or to existing employees, is absolutely critical.

As I reflect on the ways in which Canada's polytechnics can mitigate skills and talent shortages in the caring economy, two overarching policy recommendations come to mind. The first is to increase access, navigation and support for lifelong learning. There is long-standing recognition of the need for reliable, timely labour market information. While there are many groups developing LMI, from a general sense of skills in demand to data that is more industry- and occupation-specific, they rarely use comparable language or methodologies, making it difficult to integrate or navigate. Even if Canadians knew where to find this information, LMI is rarely linked to specific jobs or training opportunities.

Today's technology is capable of something much better. Every Canadian should have access to a dashboard that highlights specific areas of skill shortage in their occupation or region and a directory of where those skills can be acquired—in short, a Netflix for training opportunities.

At last count, Canada's polytechnics had more than 17,000 short-term upskilling and re-skilling programs on the books, many related to the caring economy. We would like to see more deliberate navigation to these opportunities, allowing users to understand where training is available and at what cost, duration and delivery method. Better navigation stands to amplify the impact of lifelong learning supports like the Canada training benefit.

Second, the federal government can make ongoing investments in post-secondary learning infrastructure a part of Canada's growth and development plan. To deal with existing and emerging skill shortages, post-secondary infrastructure must keep pace with industry needs, exposing learners to the latest tools, technologies and labs.

In two previous post-secondary infrastructure programs, the last more than six years ago, the case was clear. Institutions enhanced research facilities and built dynamic new spaces for Canada's talent pipeline. The need for a modern learning infrastructure is foundational to addressing talent and skill shortages. This will inevitably include physical and digital infrastructure that matches the pace and expectations of business. It is hard to develop tomorrow's talent with yesterday's spaces, equipment and tools.

I'll offer one last thought for the committee's consideration as part of this study. Canada's post-secondary institutions themselves are not immune to acute skill shortages. This has huge consequences for the talent pipeline. For example, in February British Columbia increased the number of nursing seats at its post-secondary institutions by 600. Manitoba also recently increased theirs by 400. Both were in direct response to urgent and imminent shortages in that occupation.

As I've said, a defining feature and benefit of polytechnic education is a direct connection to industry, including an emphasis on bringing professional practitioners into classrooms and labs as instructors. When demand is on the rise, so too are salary pressures. This is something that publicly funded institutions have really limited means to address.

When it comes to skill shortages in the caring economy, Canada’s polytechnics are well-positioned to respond. There are, however, important ways this capacity can be nurtured and maximized.

Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Madam Watts-Rynard.

Now, we'll hear from Madame Bégin for five minutes.

[Josée Bégin, Director General, Labour Market, Education and Socio-Economic Well-Being, Statistics Canada]

Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you for inviting me to share some insights on the labour shortages and labour market imbalances affecting the Canadian economy since the pandemic, including in the care economy.

Most indicators are pointing to an increasingly tight labour market in Canada, with the demand for workers accelerating to record levels during the second half of 2021. Job vacancies in the fourth quarter rose 80% compared with pre-pandemic levels, reflecting broad based increases across provinces and industrial sectors.

Last month, the unemployment rate fell to a near historic low of 5.5% while the participation rate reached a record high among core-aged workers. These increasingly tight labour market conditions have resulted in lengthier hiring processes, as evidenced by a rise in the proportion of vacancies open for two months or more.

The unprecedented labour demand placed by COVID‑19 on the health care system contributed to the growth in vacancies in the health care and social assistance sector. There were almost twice as many job vacancies as two years earlier in the sector, despite a 6% rise in payroll employment.

With businesses struggling to recruit staff, some have been adjusting their hiring strategies. For example, some employers appear to be lowering educational requirements to attract workers. In late 2021, about 10% of workers who had a high school diploma or less had recently started jobs that typically require university education, up from 4% in late 2019.

To help attract and retain staff, businesses are also adjusting their wage plans. In the two years leading up to November 2021, wages among new hires rose by 10%, compared with 6% for established employees. In the fourth quarter of 2021, almost half of businesses reported that they planned to raise wages for existing employees over the coming year. While wages have been on an upward trend since the fall of 2021, their growth has remained below the inflation rate.

The COVID‑19 pandemic has underscored the essential nature of the care sector but also contributed to worsen already existing labour shortages. Census data show that in 2016, care workers made up nearly one-fifth of the total employed population in Canada. Perhaps not surprisingly, women represented the majority of paid care workers, accounting for three quarters of all care workers. Overall, workers in care and non-care occupations were as likely to belong to a population group designated as a visible minority. There were however slightly higher proportions of Black and Filipino people among care workers than among non-care workers, particularly in specific occupational groups. For example, Black and Filipino people each represented 10% of workers in assisting occupations in support of health services and were highly overrepresented among nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates.

Labour Force Survey data suggest that in recent years workers in care occupations were less likely to have a permanent job than those in non-care occupations. They were also more likely to hold more than one job at the same time. Overall, workers in care occupations were slightly less likely to work full time than those in non-care occupations.

The quality of employment in the care economy is uneven, with workers covered by a collective agreement, which is 57%, generally having better working conditions than those who are not.

Statistics Canada will continue to monitor and report on labour demand pressures that are felt in the various sectors of the Canadian labour market, including those of the care economy.

Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening statement.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Bégin.

We will now open the floor for questions, beginning with Madam Kusie for six minutes.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here today.

I will direct my questions to Mr. Dale first.

Mr. Dale, besides the blip caused by omicron, would you say there is an upwards trend in job vacancy rates?

[Vincent Dale, Director, Centre for Labour Market Information, Statistics Canada]

Good morning, everyone.

In response to your specific question, we can look at job vacancies since 2015 when the current survey was introduced. Yes, we do see an increase in vacancies between 2015 and 2019, and then a sharp acceleration from 2019 onwards in association with the pandemic. In summary, the increase in vacancies is long-term, at least over the past seven years, and it has accelerated over the COVID period.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Dale.

Based on your gathering of information and evaluation of this information, what in your opinion do you believe is causing the increase in job vacancy rates?

[Vincent Dale]

We can point to several factors for the increase in vacancies. It could, for example, be due to a rapid reopening of an industry where there's an adjustment period required for matches to be made between available workers and vacancies. It may be an indication of normal economic activity where there's turnover and transition within an industry. In some cases it may be a shortage, either an absolute shortage, or some type of mismatch between the working conditions associated with the job and the willingness of available workers to take those jobs. As well there are geographic imbalances, so that there may not be a shortage, but there may be an imbalance between where available workers are located and where the vacancies are located.

There are many factors and it's important to interpret vacancies within a specific industry and occupation in the context of a broader set of labour market and economic indicators.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

That's a very thorough overview. Thank you very much.

Would you say there's one predominant reason out of all of the ones you've indicated? Certainly you have indicated many different possibilities across many different sectors and regions, but would you say there's anything predominant?

[Vincent Dale]

I wouldn't be able to say there's a predominant factor. Again, I'd repeat that it's very important to look at specific industry and regional factors and analyze a particular situation using job vacancy statistics, but also employment trends, unemployment trends and broader economic indicators. I'll just re-emphasize that there's no single explanation for overall job vacancies.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Okay, so there is a multitude of reasons. Thank you.

Mr. Dale, how long would you expect the upward trajectory of job vacancies to continue?

[Vincent Dale]

It's a very good question. We don't have the ability to predict the future. What we do is closely monitor the situation month to month and year to year.

We have seen a small decrease in vacancies over the late fall and winter period. Some of that will be associated with seasonality, and we'll have to interpret some of that decline with caution and see how things develop over the spring and summer.

We can monitor vacancies month to month. We can project, and our colleagues at ESDC and in the provinces and territories can project, demand for specific occupations five or 10 years into the future. Unfortunately, I don't have a crystal ball to project job vacancies in the medium term.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Dale.

We can't predict the future, but we certainly can look at trends. I appreciate all of that information. Thank you very much.

Ms. Watts-Rynard, in my assessment, to decrease job vacancies we either need to add more people through immigration or develop more automation. What role do you see polytechnic schools playing in increasing automation and innovation?

[Sarah Watts-Rynard]

I think one thing I would say is that there is a vast ability for the institutions to be thinking about simulation, hybrid learning and personalized learning. All of that takes equipment and, as I've said, a post-secondary infrastructure that would support increasing the number of students and their opportunities to take on those roles.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

One issue we also see with automation is the high cost for small and medium-sized enterprises to enter into these automation initiatives. Would you have any suggestions, based upon the work of your students and faculty—and trends, once again—on how we could possibly lower these costs for business?

[Sarah Watts-Rynard]

Maybe I'll pass this over to my colleague Matt. I know that he has put together some specific examples to share.

[Matthew Henderson, Director of Policy, Polytechnics Canada]

Thanks, Sarah.

Thank you for having us here today.

The one piece on supporting business is that the polytechnic model of research is really partner-driven and responsive to industry. We have members across the country working with health care providers and health care organizations to ensure that they're automating and basically being an onboard to the business innovation that's required to propel those businesses to move forward.

On the one hand, our member institutions across the country are providing the education and training for the human capital that's required for the caring economy. On the other side of the equation, the research arm of our member institutions, through the applied research office, is really supporting business to onboard new technologies, whether they be digital or simulated learning, as Sarah said, to ensure that these health care organizations from the private sector are also being moved forward along their innovation journey.

From that perspective, there is one federal program, the college and community innovation program, that explicitly funds college and polytechnic applied research. Increasing support for this program, for example, would certainly amplify at scale the amount of research that our members are able to do with the health care and caring economy writ large.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Mr. Henderson and Madam Kusie.

We will go to Mr. Van Bynen for six minutes.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be sharing my time with Mr. Collins.

First of all, thank you very much to all the witnesses for coming to contribute to this important study.

I want to spend some of my time on the Statistics Canada witnesses. In my riding of Newmarket—Aurora, there's a specific interest in the impact of disabilities on employment, and on the inability to acquire employment. Could you please tell the committee what the unemployment rate is for those with disabilities? Could you also specify the numbers based on age and gender?

That's for Statistics Canada, whoever wants to run with that.

Go ahead, Ms. Bégin.

[Josée Bégin]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question.

What I would like to propose is that we can provide additional information based on the latest results of the labour force survey. We have recently developed and published labour market indicators for disability status. I believe some of that information could be provided by age. However, the information based on gender is not available at this moment. It would be available for release later during the year.

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

All right. Thank you.

Could you explain the factors, based on the information that you do have, that contribute towards the rise of unemployment in people with disabilities?