Governments of Canada and British Columbia continue work to create jobs

Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, together with the Honourable Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, met with the Honourable Shirley Bond, British Columbia Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour, to discuss continued joint efforts to ensure British Columbia and Canada have the skilled and productive workforce needed in the natural resource sector.

“Our Government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. There are good job opportunities in B.C.’s natural resource sector and we are working with the Government of British Columbia to ensure that Canadians have the right skills for these available, well-paying and in demand jobs—this will be good for both British Columbia and the broader Canadian economy,” said Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development

The ministers are building on the March 31, 2014 Canada–British Columbia Memorandum of Understanding on a Strong Resource Economy to resolve labour market challenges and ensure that Canadians can benefit from economic opportunities in the mining, forestry and liquefied natural gas sectors. The priority of this strategy is to ensure that British Columbians, including First Nations and other Canadians, are first in line for available jobs.

At the meeting, the ministers agreed to continue to work together through the cost-shared Targeted Initiative for Older Workers program, signing-off on several projects that will help unemployed workers aged 55 to 64 return to the workforce.

“ Our Government is building a fast, fair and flexible immigration system that is focused on ensuring economic growth across Canada. We will continue to work with provinces and territories to ensure immigration plays an active role in meeting regional labour market needs,”  said Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander