Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Canada (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes the observations of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), transmitted by the Government in its report. The Government is requested to provide its comments in this regard.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Education and training programmes. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures to coordinate education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities and on the manner in which the social partners and other stakeholders are consulted with respect to the development of training programmes. The Committee notes the recent measures and policies concerning education and training programmes described by the Government, including: (1) the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP), announced in 2021, which is a contribution program that funds sectoral projects that support workers and employers through a wide range of activities such as training and reskilling workers; (2) the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund, announced in the 2022, and with the objective to allocate up to 99.1 million Canadian dollars for projects from 2024 to 2028 to support a series of training projects that will help workers upgrade or gain new skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy; (3) a new sustainable jobs stream under the Union Training and Innovation Program, announced in 2022, with the objective of funding projects to support unions in leading the development of green skills training for workers in the trades; and (4) the Long-Term and Home Care (LTHC) pilot project, launched in December 2020 and concluded June 2024, created to help respond to labour shortages in long-term and home care. The Government refers to the Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) as an example of how it consults social partners and other stakeholders with respect to skills development and employment training. The SPF funds partnerships between Indigenous organizations and industry employers by directly linking Indigenous people to specific training and jobs. The Government also refers to the release of the first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) in October 2022, a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive whose cornerstone is the Canada Disability Benefit. The Canada Disability Benefit Act came into force in June 2024. The Committee also notes the measures adopted at the sub-federal level in Nova Scotia and Québec described by the Government.

In its observations, the CLC considers that there is far too little ongoing engagement of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the design, administration and delivery of Canada’s EI programme-funded training and labour market programs. The CLC states that for years, labour organizations have called on the federal Government to require permanent, institutionalized engagement of the social partners in the design and delivery of training and employment services funded through the bilateral Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs). The CLC further states that in March 2024, the Government announced the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund, funded from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federal Government, but in this funding initiative there is no role for the social partners in the design or delivery of the programme. The CLC adds that the April 2024 federal budget cut 625 million dollars from the labour market transfers to provinces and territories funding skills training and workforce development. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the impact of the new training funds, particularly the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund, on securing lasting employment in the low-carbon economy. Noting the specific allegations of the CLC regarding the lack of institutionalized social dialogue for the LMDAs and the new Sustainable Jobs Training Fund, and the alleged CAD 625 million cut to labour market transfers, the Committee requests the Government to provide a specific response to these allegations and to indicate how this budget cut is consistent with the objective of promoting full employment during a green transition.

Promotion of women’s employment. The Committee notes the recent measures adopted by the Government to promote women’s employment, which include: (1) the Pay Gap Reporting Initiative, which requires that employers submit annual pay gap data to the Minister of Labour; (2) the launch of the Equi’Vision, a new website that publishes pay gaps and representation rates of women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities; (3) the creation of the independent Employment Equity Act Review Task Force, to carry out a comprehensive review of the Employment Equity Act and the release of its report in December 2023; and (4) the Women’s Employment Readiness (WER) pilot programme, which funds organizations to provide pre-employment and skills development supports for four groups of multi-barriered women: racialized and/or indigenous women, women with disabilities, women from the 2SLGBTQI+community, and women who have been out of work for an extended period. The Committee also notes the different measures adopted at the sub-federal level in Québec and Northwest Territories reported by the Government. The Committee further notes that, according to the 2024 Budget, a strong population growth and a historically high working-age participation – particularly among women – have helped businesses fill a record-high level of job vacancies and that more women are participating in the labour force than ever before, supported by the new Canada-wide system of early learning and child care. The Committee notes with interest the new initiatives. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the results of these measures, including: (1) the initial findings from the Pay Gap Reporting Initiative and the impact of the Equi’Vision website on reducing pay gaps; (2) the specific legislative or policy actions taken in response to the 2023 report of the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force; and (3) data on the impact of the WER pilot programme in securing decent employment for multi-barriered women. Please continue to provide disaggregated data on the labour force participation of women from disadvantaged groups, including Indigenous women, Afro-Canadian women, migrant women, and women with disabilities.

Youth employment. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) programme. The Government indicates that from 2020–21 to 2022–23, YESS collectively supported approximately 400,000 young people and the 2024 Budget announced 351.2 million dollars in additional funding for YESS to help create over 90,000 youth job placements and support opportunities in 2025–26. To improve data collection, in 2023, YESS deepened the implementation of its horizontal performance measurement framework by disaggregating equity groups such as gender, racialized youth, and youth with disabilities, and adding 2SLGBTQI+ youth and Black youth as required data collection. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on additional programs addressed to promote youth employment, including: (1) the Supports for Student Learning Program (SSLP), which in 2023–24, provided funding to over 100,000 learners; (2) the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP), extended in the 2024 Budget for an additional year, until March 2026, with an investment of US$207.6 in 2024–25; (3) the Future Skills program, which aims to increase access to training that meets evolving needs and where a minimum of 50 per cent of the funding is committed to address the needs of under-represented and disadvantaged groups, including 20 per cent dedicated towards youth; and (4) the Canada Service Corps (CSC), a grants and contributions programme focused on promoting civic engagement among Canadian youth aged 12–30. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated, disaggregated information on the impact of the YESS, SWPP, and Future Skills programs on securing sustainable employment for youth. The Committee also requests the Government to provide an analysis of youth employment trends and to explain how its policies are being adapted to address this specific challenge.

Indigenous peoples. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program. The Government indicates that since the launch of the ISET Program in 2019, training and other supports have been provided to over 215,000 indigenous people to enhance their skills and support their career goals. The ISET Program has supported over 85,000 indigenous people to find employment and over 27,000 to return to school for further training. The Program now supports a network of 118 indigenous organizations to provide training and other services to First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban/Non-affiliated indigenous peoples based on community priorities. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on other measures addressed to promote working opportunities among indigenous populations, including: (1) the Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF), which complements the ISET Program by funding partnerships between indigenous organizations and industry employers to provide skills training linked to local, regional, and national economic opportunities; and (2) the Indspire’s scholarship and bursary program Building Brighter Futures, where since 2022, the federal Government has provided funding of 8 million dollars per year for Indspire, a national, indigenous-led organization that invests in the education of indigenous students. The Committee further notes the measures adopted at the sub-federal level in Nova Scotia, Québec and Northwest Territories reported by the Government. Additionally, the Committee notes that in the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples on the situation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada it is observed, inter alia, that: (1) the socio-economic situation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada has not significantly improved, creating situations of homelessness, low educational achievement, unemployment, poverty, poor health and well-being outcomes; and (2) Indigenous Peoples are more likely to live in substandard, overcrowded and culturally inadequate housing than the rest of the Canadian population, and this situation constitutes a barrier to securing stable employment, education and access to social services (document A/HRC/54/31/Add.2, 24 July 2023, paras 21 and 74). The Committee notes the concerning findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (July 2023) that the socio-economic situation has not significantly improved and that inadequate housing is a barrier to securing stable employment. The Committee requests the Government to explain how its employment and training policies, including the ISET Program, are being adapted to address these profound, systemic barriers identified by the Special Rapporteur. It further requests the Government to provide information on how it is coordinating its employment policy with housing and social service policies to address this lack of significant improvement in outcomes.

Migrant workers. The Committee notes the different measures and policies described by the Government addressed to migrant workers, which include: (1) the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, which has in place a compliance regime to help protect temporary foreign workers by verifying, through inspections, that employers are meeting their obligations; (2) the confidential Tip Line and online tool, in the framework of the TFW Program, where temporary foreign workers or other interested parties can anonymously report situations of potential wrongdoing and misuse of the Program; (3) the Migrant Worker Support (MWS) Program, launched in 2022, which aims to support migrant workers in Canada to learn about and exercise their rights; (4) the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers (OPW-V), which provides foreign workers on valid employer-specific work permits access to an open work permit if they are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, abuse in their job; (5) regulatory amendments that came into force in September 2022 to strengthen the Government’s ability to conduct inspections, which include prohibiting employers from charging and recovering recruitment fees and mandating them to provide TFWs with information on their rights, access to healthcare in Canada; (6) the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP), a contributions program that supports the labour market integration of internationally trained professionals and skilled newcomers, through which, from 2021 to 2024, over 7,700 skilled newcomers received employment supports; (7) the implementation, since 2021, of a number of measures to promote decent employment opportunities for foreign workers and recent immigrants trough the Job Bank (the Government of Canada’s online national employment service); and (8) the Service Provider Organizations (SPO) funds across Canada to provide settlement and integration services to newcomers. In its observations, the CLC, considers that Canada’s immigration streams lack adequate planning, policy coordination and investment to ensure newcomers to the Canadian job market have access to decent work. The CLC observes that in September 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery issued a statement describing Canada’s temporary foreign worker programmes as “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery”. The CLC also objects to the way the Government extends working permits for international students and considers that workers from that group commonly find themselves overqualified and underemployed. The Committee notes the observations of the CLC citing the 2023 findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, who described Canada’s temporary foreign worker programmes as “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery” which raises fundamental questions regarding the ’freely chosen’ nature of employment under Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee urges the Government to provide a detailed response to these grave findings and to indicate the specific, urgent measures taken since 2023 to reform the TFW programmes – particularly concerning the employer-specific work permits – to effectively protect workers from these abuses. It also requests the Government to respond to the CLC’s observation regarding the underemployment of international students and to provide information on measures taken to ensure their labour market integration is aligned with their skills.

Persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs), represent the largest source of targeted employment supports for persons with disabilities and include a strong commitment to supporting persons with disabilities in finding and keeping good jobs. WDAs across Canada receive 722 million dollars annually of which approximately 220 million dollars is dedicated to persons with disabilities (440 million dollars total including PT cost-matched funding). The Government indicates that in 2021 it introduced enhancements to improve student financial assistance through the Canada Student Financial Assistance (CSFA) Program and that an additional 1.1 billion dollars announced in the 2024 Budget will enhance student financial assistance for the 2024–25 school year, which includes increasing grants for part-time students, students with disabilities, and students with dependants. The Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) includes dedicated funding to support under-represented students, and as of June 2024, the GSO had supported 11,628 students to participate in a study or work abroad experience, with 73 per cent of students identifying as indigenous (12 per cent), low-income (62 per cent), and/or as a student with a disability (18 per cent). The Government also refers to the Opportunities Fund (OF) for Persons with Disabilities, a skills and employment training program that assists persons with disabilities to prepare for, obtain and maintain employment or become self-employed, or advance in their careers and which, from 2015–2016 to 2022–2023, served approximately 38,586 persons with disabilities across Canada. The Government also indicates that in July 2024, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) launched the Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities, under the employment pillar of Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan (2022), to address barriers to employment faced by persons with disabilities. The Employment Strategy aims to close the employment gap between persons with and without disabilities in Canada by 2040. The Committee notes the Government’s information on measures adopted at the sub-federal level in Nova Scotia and Québec. The Committee notes with interest the launch of the Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities (July 2024) and the entry into force of the Canada Disability Benefit Act (June 2024). It requests the Government to provide specific information on the key targets, new measures, and monitoring mechanisms of the Employment Strategy, explaining how it will differ from existing programs (like the WDA and OF) to achieve the 2040 goal of “closing the employment gap”. It further requests the Government to explain how this new Strategy and the new Benefit are being coordinated to ensure that the benefit effectively supports access to productive and freely chosen employment and avoids creating disincentives to entering the open labour market. Please provide specific information on the measures taken or envisaged to promote the transition from sheltered or segregated employment to the open labour market, and provide updated, disaggregated data on the employment rate gap for persons with disabilities.

Older workers. The Government reiterates that the Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs), enable provinces and territories to provide employment assistance and skills training with added flexibility to respond to the diverse needs of their respective clients and can be used to support members of under-represented groups such as older workers. The Government points out that although the Opportunities Fund (OF) for Persons with Disabilities does not presently have targeted initiatives for older workers, the program supports participants of all ages, including older workers and that out of 4,632 participants served in 2022–23, 10 per cent were over 55 years old. The Committee notes that, according to the 2024 Budget, a strong population growth and a historically high working-age participation have helped businesses fill a record-high level of job. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that employment supports for older workers are primarily channelled through the general Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) and the non-targeted Opportunities Fund. Given the demographic challenges and the skills requirements of the green transition, the Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on measures taken or envisaged to promote the retention, retraining, and hiring of older workers. Please include information on how new federal initiatives, such as the Sustainable Jobs Training Fund and the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy, are ensuring the inclusion and reskilling of older workers, and provide updated data on the labour market participation of this group, disaggregated by sex and age (e.g., 55–64 and 65+).