Roundtable Meeting with Jason Kenney Notes

This afternoon I participated in a roundtable with the federal Minster of Employment and Social Development Jason Kenney and 20 other municipal and business leaders from south west Saskatchewan. It was an afternoon filled with insight and different perspectives. Below are some of the highlights of the meeting.

Jason Kenney's Opening Remarks

• The primary question motivating the Ministry of Employment and Social Development: What can be done to prepare Canadians for the jobs of the future?
• The Canadian national youth unemployment rate is 14% whereas the German national youth unemployment rate is 5%
• Why the difference?
• There seems to be greater integration of education with the labour force.
• The trades are prized as equally as an university education: twice as many youth go to university in Canada as in Germany.
• There should be greater market participation by the disabled and aboriginals.
• The government is looking at meaningful labour market reforms.

Participant Remarks

• More apprenticeships are needed including looking at other areas that are not traditionally 'trades'
• Education is big issue:
• Currently students do not have 'deadlines' nor do they have to do homework; where is the accountability developed that is needed for a good work ethic?
• Succession is an issue for many people - incidentally, this has been on the horizon for a few years given the demographics of the baby boomers.
• The recruitment and retention of labourers, trades, and professionals is difficult due to the 'quality of life' in rural areas: examples include shopping, recreation, education, and culture opportunities.
• The administrators of the LMO are geographically disconnected from the Prairies, specifically West Central and South West Saskatchewan. (They are located in Vancouver.)
• A good farm labourer with 5 years experience can earn around $70,000.
• Some construction companies are booked one year in advance.
• More broadband infrastructure is needed in the rural municipalities.
• Employers are being recruited primarily from Europe and the Middle East.
• In 2007 there were ~30 Philippinoes (sp?) lived in Swift Current, in 2014 there are ~3,000.

Jason Kenney's Closing Remarks

• The challenges are the same across the prairies.
• The LMO is complicated due to the amount of fraud in the immigration 'industry.'
• There are ~500,000 immigrants in Canada when you combine immigrants and foreign students.
• Canada has the highest level of immigration in the world on a per capita basis.
• The youth unemployment rate in Toronto is 25%.
• Nationally, there are 7 unemployed people for every job advertisement.
• The government is aware of the economic and labour market tension across Canada and is working to address the imbalance.
• Labour prices have remained flat for the last four years. (no meaningful raises)
• Big challenge now is to transfer the wealth of knowledge, human capital, from the baby boomer generation to the following generations.

It was a good meeting to learn more of the challenges we face across the prairies. There is no silver bullet. Politics and economics do not obey the law of gravity. Gravity makes everything fall to their natural position very quickly; politics and economics are always up, down, and behind.

There was one remark Jason Kenney made that made an impression on me: in response to an immigration question about refugees receiving social assistance Mr. Kenney's remarks were gracious: our country has a tradition of being generous and hospitable to the persecuted and it is a tradition he is proud to continue.