Governments of Canada and Quebec announce a new job training deal to help people with disabilities find jobs

Governments also highlight progress made on co-delivery of online placement and Job Bank services

QUÉBEC, July 6, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, the Governments of Canada and Quebec signed the renewal of the 2014–2018 Canada–Quebec Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPD). The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, along with Mr. Sam Hamad, Quebec Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, also highlighted progress made on the co-delivery of online placement and Job Bank services.

The LMAPD provides funding for programs that help people with disabilities find and keep jobs. With increased employer engagement and a stronger focus on demonstrating the best possible results for Canadians, the new generation of job training deals for people with disabilities will better connect Canadians with available jobs. Under this job training deal, Quebec has the flexibility to determine how to best address the needs of Canadians with disabilities, while helping Canadian businesses benefit from their skills and talent.

This new funding is in addition to the significant investments that the Government of Quebec already makes to the programs administered by its Department of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity and Department of Health and Social Services.

The ministers also announced that they began discussions on sharing online placement services. The discussions focused on how the Government of Quebec could make use of the federal government's Job Bank resources to modernize its own online placement service. 

The agreement was signed at Groupe TAQ, an adapted business located in Québec, Quebec. Groupe TAQ's mission is to facilitate the socio-professional integration of people with disabilities by offering them good, stable and permanent employment.

Quick Facts

• Approximately 300,000 interventions are provided annually for people with disabilities through over 100 programs across the country.
• To provide more demand-driven training solutions for people with disabilities, the Government's Economic Action Plan is increasing funding to the Opportunities Fund. Employers and community organizations will be involved in designing and delivering training projects.
• Through Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government is providing support to the Canadian Association for Community Living to help connect people with developmental disabilities with jobs. It is also providing support to the Sinneave Family Foundation and Autism Speaks Canada to expand vocational training programs for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• Job Bank is Canada's free one-stop job listing website. Job Bank is the Government of Canada's main resource for employment information such as job descriptions, wages, required education and work experience, current job opportunities and future forecasted demand. The website generates approximately 6 million visits every month.
• The Online Placement website is a portal to employment services and resources launched in 2001 and administered by the Government of Quebec, where employers can publish job offers and job seekers can post their résumés. The website generates over 10 million visits a year.

Quotes

"Today's announcement is one example of what the Government is doing to help Canadians. The new job training deal for people with disabilities will increase employer involvement and better connect residents of Quebec with available jobs."
– The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development

"The Government of Quebec is committed to stimulating the labour market and creating prosperity throughout the province. To do this, we must take action to make it easier for more people to enter the workforce and better connect workers with available jobs, which is what makes today's announcements so important. These initiatives will improve access to the labour market for people with disabilities, as well as help employers fill available jobs."   
– Mr. Sam Hamad, Quebec Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region

Associated Links

• Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities
• Canada's Economic Action Plan

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Backgrounder

The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, along with Mr. Sam Hamad, Quebec Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity, signed the new Canada–Quebec Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPD).

This agreement will provide more than $90 million to help connect people with disabilities to available jobs. Under the agreement, the Government of Canada can reimburse 50 percent of the Government of Quebec's expenses for eligible programs on an annual basis, up to $45.9 million per year.

As announced in the Economic Action Plan, this new generation of LMAPDs represents a federal investment of $222 million per year in the provinces and territories.

Additional support for Canadians with disabilities

Through Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government of Canada proposed to provide $15 million over three years to the Ready, Willing & Able initiative of the Canadian Association for Community Living to help connect people with developmental disabilities with jobs.

Economic Action Plan 2014 also provided $11.4 million over four years for the CommunityWorks initiative led by the Sinneave Family Foundation to support the expansion of vocational training programs for Canadians with autism spectrum disorders.

The Government of Canada also provided funding of $7 million per year for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, some of which will support research related to the labour market participation of people with disabilities.

These measures are in addition to:

• Enabling Accessibility Fund
  The Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) was introduced in 2007 as a three-year, $45-million program to support community-based projects that improve accessibility for Canadians with disabilities. In 2010, it was extended with an additional three-year, $45-million commitment. Through Economic Action Plan 2013, the Government of Canada extended the EAF on an ongoing basis at $15 million per year to improve accessibility to programs and services in communities across Canada, and to create or maintain job opportunities for people with disabilities in workplaces.
  
  The program includes the following streams:
  • Workplaces accessibility
  • Community accessibility

Since its creation in 2007, the program has funded over 1,800 projects across the country and has improved accessibility for thousands of Canadians. For more information about the program, visit: http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/disability/eaf/index.shtml.

• Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
  The Opportunities Fund helps people with disabilities to prepare for, obtain and maintain employment or become self-employed. Economic Action Plan 2013 announced ongoing funding of $40 million per year to the Opportunities Fund. Since 2006, the Opportunities Fund has helped over 40,000 people with disabilities across Canada develop skills and gain experience so they can find jobs.
  
• Registered Disability Savings Plan
  The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) helps people with disabilities and their families save for the future. The RDSP, Canada Disability Savings Grant and Canada Disability Savings Bond were introduced in Budget 2007 and became available to Canadians in December 2008. 
  
  To help people save, the Government provides grants of up to three times the private contributions made to the RDSP, depending on the beneficiary's family income and the amount contributed. The maximum grant is $3,500 a year, with a lifetime limit of $70,000. The Government also deposits bonds into the RDSPs of low- and modest-income Canadians. Beneficiaries that qualify for the bond receive up to $1,000 a year, with a lifetime limit of $20,000. No contributions are necessary to receive the bond.

Job Bank

Through Job Bank, the Government of Canada is providing Canadians with the tools and information they need to find jobs and make informed career decisions.

Each year, Job Bank helps hundreds of thousands of Canadian workers, job seekers and employers connect online. Job Bank also makes it easier for Canadians to find the right kind of job by providing detailed, up-to-date labour market information.

Job seekers can find out what skills and education they need to get the job they want in an industry that's hiring, as well as how much they can expect to earn based on where they work.

Job Bank has been modernized over the last year to increase its security and authentication requirements to ensure the authenticity of job postings and employers. In addition, new features have also been added, including Job Match.  

SOURCE Canada's Economic Action Plan