Feds set aside $545-million to finance new contracts reached with big unions
After more than a year in office, the Liberal government has reached tentative agreements with several large bargaining units representing thousands of civil servants, though those without deals are signalling they won’t settle until they get exactly what they want. Alain Belle-Isle, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board Secretariat, said in an emailed response to questions […]
Science applied to organic agriculture helps all farmers
GUELPH, ONT.—Organic agriculture has far more in common than it has differences with non-organic agriculture. It is based on similar traditions and information flows both ways. Science applies to organic agriculture as much as it does to agriculture at large. Research conducted in unmasked biological systems, under organic methods, reveals relationships and interactions sometimes not […]
MPs get groovy at Global Citizen and Global Partnership for Education reception
Did you know just 14 cents a day could close the international education gap in developing countries? That was the pitch to Parliamentarians Wednesday evening at a candlelight cocktail reception at the Château Laurier, hosted by social advocacy group Global Citizen and former Australian prime minister and now Board Chair of the Global Partnership for […]
Department reveals there are 290,000 unresolved Phoenix pay cases
There are nearly as many unprocessed public servant pay issues in the queue as there are federal employees who receive their pay through the Phoenix pay system, departmental officials revealed today. A year after the first of around 300,000 federal employees began receiving their pay through the new payroll system, there are approximately 290,000 “unprocessed […]
Liberals accused of backing away from EI break after pledge disappears from mandate letter
Opposition MPs are accusing the Liberal government of reneging on a promise to temporarily waive employment insurance premiums for businesses hiring young workers after the pledge failed to appear on the revised mandate letter for the new labour minister. “It appears they have dropped this promise to small businesses and young people,” said Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre […]
Ottawa must be prepared to spend, back programs to foster Canadian talent: advocates
The federal government must complement investments in skills training with better labour market information and other tools to ensure Canadians can secure lucrative jobs in the modern economy, according to advocates. Namir Anani, president and CEO of the Information and Communications Technology Council, a self-described national centre of expertise for the digital economy, said that while Canada has […]
Change needed to capture top international talent, say industry analysts
Canada’s position as one of the few solid liberal democracies holding its doors open to the world could make it easier to attract talent here, but experts say that is just one ingredient to nurturing innovative talent. The government has plans for a Global Skills Strategy that it says “will set an ambitious two-week standard […]
Preparing young Canadians for the jobs of tomorrow
Last summer, I sat down with 12 young entrepreneurs and innovators. They were game designers, data scientists, and YouTube stars. These jobs either didn’t exist, or were relatively new when I was their age less than a generation ago. We talked about ways for more young Canadians to develop digital skills, especially in a rapidly […]
Feds committed to helping youth ‘realize their full potential’: PS Schiefke
From the moment he was sworn into office, it was clear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wanted to display to young Canadians that his government would be preoccupied with issues that matter to them. After all, he appointed himself youth minister. Through a strictly political lens, it’s an obvious calculation for Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.), with many pundits, […]
Tackling the digital skills gap: youth without jobs, employers without workers
Canadian youth use sophisticated technology in many aspect of their lives, but are failing to gain the skills to develop that technology themselves, something employers are seeking. This contributes to an unemployment rate for young people that’s almost double the national average. The digital skills gap is a growing problem for which experts are united […]
