Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, February 28, 2014

Disabled could lose job aid in funding spat with Ottawa

Job coaches are starting to get pink slips as Ottawa and the provinces continue their standoff over employment funding.

The Nova Scotia government has warned employment groups it cannot guarantee their funding after March 31, when its contract with Ottawa, known as a labour market agreement, expires.

One group, the Collaborative Partnership Network, is holding an event today at the legislature to warn that 200 disabled Nova Scotians will lose their support programs and possibly their jobs if a new agreement is not reached in time.

The group has told its employees, who provide job training to Nova Scotians with disabilities, that it cannot guarantee their employment after March 31.

Last Friday, Ottawa sent its “final offer” for a new deal to the provinces, who have until the end of this Friday to accept or reject the deal.

The provinces want to keep funding for their existing programs while Ottawa wants to put hundreds of millions of dollars toward its employer-led Canada Job Grant program.

“I don’t think this is about ultimatums,” Employment Minister Jason Kenney said in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

“There’s just a legal reality that the current labour market agreement expires at the end of March, so we’ve needed to get to an agreement. I’m very hopeful that we’ll get across the line very soon.”

Kenney’s latest offer gives the provinces more flexibility in how the job grant program is funded and delays its implementation by three months.

This would likely still mean some existing programs would close. But Kenney said a growing labour shortage means Canada’s labour training systems need to be shaken up.

“Organizations that receive contributions from governments understand that they’re never a permanent guarantee of unconditional funding in the future,” he said.

The provincial government says it is poring over Ottawa’s latest offer with a fine-tooth comb. It would not tip its hand about whether it is leaning toward accepting the offer.

In the meantime, employment groups can only wait and see.

“We know that this process is very stressful for them,” said Chrissy Matheson, spokeswoman for the provincial Labour and Advanced Education Department.

“But, in the same breath, it would be very difficult for our province to pick up the significant training bill that has always been funded by the federal government.”

The network provides assistance to Nova Scotians with disabilities and has an annual budget of $500,000.

The group is calling for a new agreement to be signed and is also asking the province for three months of bridge funding, a total of $112,000, so it can have some short-term certainty.

About 2,000 people with disabilities come to the network each year for help finding a job, according to network co-chairwoman Janice Ainsworth.

“We’re very, very successful. We probably help upwards of 1,000 people find jobs per year,” she said.

The end of the labour market agreement would mean the network would have to cut services like job coaching and training to about 200 clients who are new to their jobs. She warns that some of these people might lose their jobs if this support is pulled.

Ottawa now gives $500 million each year to provinces for employment funding. The new plan would take $300 million of that total and apply it to the Canada Job Grant.

The grants would be for specific skills training programs for specific jobs. Ottawa would kick in $5,000 per employee, with the employer providing a matching $5,000. The provinces would also kick in $5,000 if they sign on to the plan.

The federal government says it wants skills training programs to lead to guaranteed jobs, and that employers know better than governments what training is needed.

Original Article
Source: thechronicleherald.ca/
Author: PAUL MCLEOD

No comments:

Post a Comment