Planned results: What we want to achieve this year and beyond

Description

To increase inclusion and opportunities for Canadians to participate in their communities.

Planning Highlights

In fiscal year 2019-20, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will seek to achieve the following departmental results under this Core Responsibility:

1. Access to early learning and child care is increased;
2. Barriers to accessibility for people with disabilities are removed;
3. Homelessness is prevented and reduced;
4. Not-for-profit organizations, communities and other groups have an enhanced capacity to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of people with disabilities, the engagement of seniors and support for children and families; and
5. Clients receive high-quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs.

The programs found in the Department's Social Development Core Responsibility, such as the Social Development Partnerships Program, Sustainable Development Funding Program, and Early Learning and Child Care, are aligned with the Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being pillar of the Gender Results Framework. These programs provide funding to organizations that seek to improve outcomes for persons facing barriers to full and equal participation in society. The Department has developed these programs using a Gender-Based Analysis Plus lens in order to take into consideration the variation in experiences and barriers these different groups face.

Access to early learning and child care is increased

The early years of life are critical in the development and future well-being of the child and the continuum of learning. Yet, only 1 in 4 children in Canada have access to regulated Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) and affordability remains a concern for many families. Budgets 2016 and 2017 announced an investment of $7.5 billion over 11 years in ELCC. Starting in 2017-18, the Government of Canada entered into bilateral agreements with all provinces and territories to provide them with $1.2 billion over three years for early learning and childcare programs. Through 2019-20, the Government of Canada will provide $400 million to support and increase access to early learning and childcare. Federal funding supports the unique ELCC priorities of each jurisdiction, as outlined in each publicly available Provincial and Territorial Action Plan. The Department will continue to track federal investment within jurisdictions to ensure the achievement of ELCC targets, including the creation of up to 40,000 affordable child care spaces by March 2020. In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will report on progress in implementing ELCC bilateral agreements, including on targets and indicators.

As a result of federal investment, below are early learning and child care commitments outlined in provincial and territorial Action Plans for 2019-20:

• Yukon is expected to use federal funds to stabilize child care fees and provide additional funding to rural programs which better reflect the reality of providing early learning and child care programming in rural and northern communities.
• British Columbia is expected to allocate $30 million of federal funds to create Early Care and Learning Prototype Sites, which offer families with low cost $10-a-day child care spaces. Additionally, $1 million of federal funding will support the Young Parent Program, which supports young parents who are completing their secondary education
• Alberta is expected to allocate approximately $24 million of federal funding to create and maintain affordable child care spaces. These spaces will support family needs, including flexible and extended hours, infant and toddler spaces, rural spaces and programs supporting children with diverse needs.
• Northwest Territories is expected to be using their 2019-20 funding towards the establishment of new licensed child care spaces, as well as post-secondary learning opportunities within the territorial Diploma program that addresses the cultural contexts of the Northwest Territories.
• Saskatchewan is expected to expand access to high quality, affordable child care programs through the development and maintenance of 2,515 additional licensed spaces.
• Manitoba is expected to direct approximately $8 million in funding towards the creation of new licensed ELCC spaces, specifically in communities where access to child care has been challenging and where the capacity to meet the requirements of current capital funding programs has been a persistent barrier.
• Nunavut is expected to use federal funding (about $1.3 million) to support and maintain access to affordable ELCC programs and services, as well as continuing to promote high quality, inclusive ELCC programs and services through greater training and professional development.
• Ontario is expected to allocate $100 million of their federal funds to support access to affordable, quality child care through increased subsidies and/or community-based capital for children 0-6 years of age.
• Quebec is expected to continue allocating federal funds to support additional direct services for families, including the creation of 5,800 subsidized spaces and improved services for families affected by autism spectrum disorder.
• Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to allocate approximately $5 million of their federal funds towards improving affordability and accessibility of ELCC spaces Additionally, $1 million of their federal funds is expected to be used towards enhancements of grants, bursaries and professional learning for early childhood educators.
• New Brunswick is expected to allocate $9 million of their federal funds towards the Early Learning Centre Designation and parent advisory boards, which will outline the criteria that early learning and child care facilities must achieve in New Brunswick. This will ensure families have greater access to high quality and affordable early learning and child care.
• Prince Edward Island is expected to allocate $3 million of their federal funds to increase the number of spaces for infants and preschoolers, and also expand child care access for parents working non-standard hours.
• About $8 million out of the 2019-20 federal funding for Nova Scotia is expected to be used to increase the number of child care spaces in underserved communities with a focus on infant care which will better support harder to reach families. This will include services that meet the needs of Acadian/Francophone, African Nova Scotian, Indigenous and newcomer families.

Through Budgets 2016 and 2017, the Government of Canada committed $7.5 billion over 11 years for more high-quality affordable child care. As part of this investment, a new distinctions-based Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework—co-developed with the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council—is delivering $1.7 billion over 10 years since 2018-19 to strengthen services for Indigenous families. The Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative led by ESDC will enable horizontal coordination of federal programs and investments and help realize the goals and priorities of Indigenous peoples set out in the Framework.

Barriers to accessibility for people with disabilities are removed

People with disabilities face a wide range of barriers that prevent full participation in Canadian society and to address these challenges, the Department will continue to focus its efforts on building the capacity of Canadians, communities and workplaces to create a barrier-free Canada and improve the life outcomes of people with disabilities.

The Government of Canada is in a unique position to bring about real change to the lives of Canadians with disabilities. Following extensive consultation with Canadians with disabilities, the Government of Canada introduced in Parliament Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act: An Act to Ensure a Barrier-free Canada. The Government of Canada is providing funding of approximately $290 million over six years that will further the objectives of the proposed legislation within federal jurisdiction. The purpose of Bill C-81 is to benefit all persons, especially persons with disabilities, through the proactive identification, removal, and prevention of barriers to accessibility in priority areas such as the built environment, employment, service delivery, communication, procurement, transportation, as well as information and communication technologies. To support the full participation of people with disabilities in Canadian society, the Department will also look at how it delivers services to Canadians and the barriers that limit their ability to access those services. As the Department invests in service improvements and transformation, it will seek to do so within the context of the principles of C-81, the proposed Accessible Canada Act to improve inclusion and accessibility for Canadians.

The Enabling Accessibility Fund assists in the full participation of people with disabilities in Canadian society. In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will be funding larger scale, multi-year capital projects stemming from the 2018 Call for Concepts. Funding will also flow towards smaller scale projects to fulfill accessibility improvements, with the goal of supporting over 1,800 additional projects between 2018 and 2028.

The Department will continue to promote the new youth innovation component of the Enabling Accessibility Fund that empowers youth to identify accessibility barriers and develop solutions within their communities in collaboration with local organizations.

Homelessness is prevented and reduced

Poverty and homelessness impact every community in Canada and affect a diverse cross section of the population. In 2016, an estimated 133,000 people spent at least one night in an emergency shelter. The Department will continue investing in communities and programs that reduce poverty and help the most vulnerable citizens access safe, stable, and secure housing.

In 2019-20, the Department will implement Reaching Home Canada's Homelessness Strategy. Through this redesigned federal homelessness program, ESDC is expected to deliver $215 million in funding annually to Canadians by 2021-22. The Department is focusing its efforts on reinforcing a community-based approach with the funding going directly to municipalities and local service providers to address and reduce homelessness. Through these significant investments, Reaching Home aims to support communities in achieving a reduction of 50% in chronic homelessness across the country by 2027-28.

In 2018, the Government of Canada released Opportunity for All - Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy establishing an official measure of poverty for the first time in Canada's history. Canada's Official Poverty Line is based on the cost of a basket of goods and services that individuals and families require in order to meet their basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living. It sets and ambitious and concrete poverty reduction targets: a 20 percent reduction in poverty by 2020 and a 50 percent reduction in poverty by 2030, which, relative to 2015 levels, will lead to the lowest poverty rate in Canada's history. The Government's poverty reduction efforts are already showing results. Based on the 2017 Canadian Income Survey data released on February 26, 2019, Canada has reached its 2020 target to reduce poverty by 20% based on 2015 levels, a full three years ahead of schedule. This represents approximately 825,000 fewer individuals living in poverty than in 2015.

In fiscal year 2019-20, a National Advisory Council on Poverty will be put in place to advise the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on poverty reduction, publicly report annually on the progress being made on poverty reduction in Canada, and continue a national dialogue with Canadians.

The Department will also work with Statistics Canada to review and update Canada's Official Poverty Line by early 2020. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the basket of items that comprise Canada's Official Poverty Line continues to reflect the costs and items that Canadians need to meet their basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living in communities across Canada, including the North.

In addition, the Department will work with Indigenous leaders and communities to identify and co‑develop indicators that align with First Nations, Inuit and Métis concepts of poverty.

Not-for-profit organizations, communities and other groups have an enhanced capacity to address a range of social issues such as the social inclusion of people with disabilities, the engagement of seniors and support for children and families.

The Department supports organizations, communities and other groups that aim to improve the well-being of vulnerable groups and promote their full and equal participation in society, as well as help to ensure that Canada's society and economy grow in a sustainable manner. To ensure that these organizations have the capacity to address barriers faced by vulnerable populations, the Department will undertake the following activities:

Recognizing that new approaches are needed to tackle persistent and complex social issues, the Department is leading development of a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy. In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department is building a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy to generate inclusive economic growth alongside positive social and environmental impacts by strengthening the ability of communities to experiment with, finance and scale new solutions to the pressing challenges facing Canada. The Strategy will be informed by an August 2018 report that reflected recommendations of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group. The November 2018 Fall Economic Statement made available $805 million in funding supports, including a $755 million Social Finance Fund and a $50 million Investment and Readiness Stream. This is an important first step that will help charitable, non-profit and other social purpose organizations access new financing and improve their ability to successfully participate in the social finance market. The Department will continue to work with other federal departments on exploring other recommendations from the Steering Group's report.

The Social Development Partnership Program - Children and Families Component focuses on social inclusion and provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, provincial/territorial entities and Indigenous organizations to tackle barriers faced by vulnerable populations. In 2019-20, through this Component, the Department will continue to support the delivery of high quality and inclusive child care, and will provide funds to organizations that explore innovative methods of delivering early learning and child care.

The Social Development Partnerships Program - Disability Component will continue to support not-for-profit organizations through strategic investments that address barriers to accessibility and improve life outcomes of people with disabilities through three funding streams: annual operating funding to national organizations; annual operating funding to regional organizations under the Community Inclusion Initiative; and project funding through periodic calls for proposals and/or unsolicited proposals. In 2019-20, the Department will focus its efforts on ensuring that Component's funding continues to be delivered in a fair, transparent, predictable and accountable manner.

In the course of this fiscal year, the Department will advance the development of projects that have a positive impact on the lives of Canadians in Official Language Minority Communities. This funding opportunity is part of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future, which presents new initiatives and key investments under three pillars: Strengthening our Communities, Strengthening Access to Services and Promoting a Bilingual Canada.

The Sustainable Development Goals Unit, housed within the Department, was established to serve as a focal point for Canada's implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This Unit, in collaboration with other federal departments, is responsible for coordinating, monitoring and reporting on Canada's progress on the sustainable development goals. To accelerate action on these goals, the Unit will develop a 2030 Agenda National Strategy through engagement with all levels of government, civil society, Indigenous peoples, the private sector and other stakeholders, as well as administer a Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program. It is an opportunity to work in partnership with organizations to help deliver improved outcomes for Canadians, with the aim of leaving no one behind. Budget 2018 provided approximately $60 million over 13 years, starting in 2018, for programming to support the achievement of sustainable development goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program highlights the Government's commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda and facilitates a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach by leveraging the work of external stakeholders and investing in innovative horizontal initiatives (i.e. projects that contribute to the achievement of more than one goal). The Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program will be delivered by the Department, but will support Canada's implementation of the 2030 Agenda across all 17 goals, of which responsibility is shared across the Government of Canada. Therefore, the objectives of the Program will be broader than the Department's mandate. The expected outcomes of the Program include increased public awareness of the sustainable development goals, the development of new partnerships and networks, improved and more broadly available knowledge of emerging sustainable development issues, the implementation of innovative approaches that drive progress on multiple sustainable development goals and support for Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

The National Seniors Council provides advice to the federal government, through the Minister of Seniors and the Minister of Health, on matters related to the quality of life and well-being of seniors, as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with an aging population. In fiscal year 2019-20, the Council will implement the first phase of its three-year work plan, which will involve engaging federal experts and community stakeholders to identify measures to further address or reduce crimes against seniors.

The Council is expected to produce a report for ministerial consideration in 2019-20 summarizing the various seniors' strategies developed within Canada and abroad. The Council will also provide recommendations on ways to engage Canadian seniors and stakeholders.

Clients receive high-quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Please refer to the Our Vision for Service Excellence highlight box on page 51 for details on the Department's plans to meet the needs of Canadians.

Description

Assist Canadians in maintaining income for retirement, and provide financial benefits to survivors, people with disabilities and their families.

Planning Highlights

In fiscal year 2019-20, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will seek to achieve the following departmental results under this Core Responsibility:

1. Seniors have income support for retirement;
2. People with disabilities and their families have financial support; and
3. Clients receive high-quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs.

The programs found in the Department's Pensions and Benefits core responsibility, including the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and the Canada Disability Savings Program, are aligned with the Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being pillar of the Gender Results Framework. These programs provide income support to Canadians to help them maintain their standard of living during retirement and contribute to improving living standards of populations who are at an increased risk of experiencing poverty, such as seniors, women who are widows or have to take time off work due to caring responsibilities, and persons with disabilities.  

Seniors have income support for retirement

Financial security in retirement is an important concern for Canadians, and the Department plays a key role in Canada's retirement income system by providing seniors with the financial benefits that they deserve. In 2019-20, the Department will continue to implement enhancements that help seniors maintain their standard of living and prevent poverty in retirement.

On January 1, 2019, the enhancement of the Canada Pension Plan began its seven-year phase-in. The Canada Pension Plan enhancement will increase the retirement, disability and survivor benefits of Canadians who work and contribute to the Plan in 2019 or later. The enhancement will increase both the earnings replacement provided by the Plan and the range of covered earnings. Benefits under the enhancement will gradually grow as Canadians work and contribute to the Plan, with fully enhanced benefits becoming available after 40 years of contributing. The fully enhanced Canada Pension Plan will increase the maximum retirement pension by more than 50 percent.

In addition to the enhancement, a number of other reforms to the Canada Pension Plan also took effect on January 1, 2019, reflecting the unanimous agreement-in-principle of Canada's Finance Ministers. This reform package will eliminate the reductions to the survivor's pension for survivors under the age of 45, create a post-retirement disability benefit for working recipients of the retirement pension under age 65 and make the death benefit a $2,500 flat rate payment for all eligible contributors. The flat rate payment will be particularly beneficial for families of lower-income workers.

It will also introduce "drop-in" mechanisms to protect the enhanced component of Canada Pension Plan benefits for the parents of young children and disabled individuals. These provisions will especially benefit women, as women are more likely to become survivors, more likely to take time off work to provide care for children and more likely to receive a disability pension than men.

In the course of this fiscal year, the federal government and its provincial/territorial partners will examine the fiscal state of the Plan and its benefits to ensure its long-term sustainability and that its benefits and provisions continue to meet the evolving needs of Canadians during the 2019-21 Triennial Review of the Canada Pension Plan.

The Department expects to deliver $56.2 billion in Old Age Security benefits and $49.7 billion in Canada Pension Plan benefits in 2019-20.

People with disabilities and their families have financial support

Many people with disabilities experience barriers to participating in social and economic activities, increasing their chances of living in financially precarious circumstances. The Department is focused on providing the supports that people with disabilities need to achieve long-term financial security by helping them and their families save for the future.

In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will continue to implement a series of Canada Pension Plan Disability improvements to better respond to the needs of Canadians with severe and prolonged disabilities. These include:

• Strengthening quality assurance to determine greater efficiencies, enhancing program performance and improving the decision-making process;
• Developing evidence-based analysis of the ongoing interactions between the Department and beneficiaries (after an application is approved) to improve program outcomes; and
• Continuing to consult with internal and external partners and stakeholders to advance Canada Pension Plan Disability program priorities and objectives.

The Canada Disability Savings Program enables people with severe and prolonged disabilities to achieve long-term financial security by helping them and their families save for the future. With many people with disabilities living at or below the poverty line, the Department will expand outreach activities in 2019-20 to increase awareness and take-up of the program in order to ensure greater opportunities for Canadians with disabilities.

Clients receive high-quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Please refer to Our Vision for Service Excellence highlight box on page 51 for details on the Department's plans to meet the needs of Canadians.

Description

Help Canadians access post-secondary education and get the skills and training they need to participate in a changing labour market, as well as provide support to those who are temporarily unemployed.

Planning Highlights

In fiscal year 2019-20, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will seek to achieve the following departmental results under this Core Responsibility:

1. Canadians access education, training and lifelong learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need;
2. More students from low- and middle-income families access and participate in post-secondary education;
3. Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market;
4. Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness or maternity/parental leave; and
5. Clients receive high-quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs.

The full participation of Canadians through education and skills development is essential to ensuring sustained and inclusive growth. Encouraging persons facing barriers to full and equal participation in society to explore and access new careers closely aligns with both the Education and Skills Development and Economic Participation and Prosperity pillars of the Gender Results Framework.

Canadians access education, training and lifelong learning supports to gain the skills and work experience they need

The Canadian economy and labour market are changing, as advances in technology and innovation push employers to seek more highly educated and skilled workers, while work increasingly takes place outside of traditional workplaces. As a result, the Department is continuing to focus its efforts on ensuring that Canadians are able to access the training and supports they need to keep pace with the changes in the job market.

Supporting post-secondary education students to facilitate labour market transitions

Following the 2018 Fall Economic Statement, Global Affairs Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada will work together, along with other departments and stakeholders, to develop a new International Education Strategy which will include inbound and outbound mobility opportunities for Canadian post-secondary education students.

Created to better prepare students for the world of work, to date, the Student Work Placement Program has supported the creation of work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students enrolled in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business. The Program also supported multi-stakeholder partnerships between post-secondary education institutions and employers in key economic sectors to develop innovative and sustainable work-integrated learning strategies. In eighteen months of activity, the Program supported the creation of opportunities across Canada with 48 percent being taken up by students that face barriers to work-integrated learning (women in STEM, Indigenous students, persons with disabilities, newcomers, and first-year students).

In 2019-20, the Student Work Placement Program will create new placements through 10 multi-stakeholder partnerships in high-demand fields, including biotechnology, environment, information and communications technology (including artificial intelligence and cyber-security), aerospace and aviation, financial services, entrepreneurship, mining, and electricity.

Equipping Canadians with the tools they need to succeed in the changing world of work

During the year 2019-20, Future Skills will bring together expertise from all sectors and leverage experience from partners across the country to support skills development and measurement in Canada. A Council, appointed by the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, will make recommendations to the Minister on national and regional strategic priorities. In addition, a pan-Canadian, independent research centre will develop, test and evaluate new approaches to skills assessment and development. Results will be shared broadly to help Canadians make informed training decisions, and gain the skills they need to adapt and succeed in the workforce. Results will also help to influence service providers and government policy and program investments.

To ensure that adults can adapt to a changing job market and economy, the Department will continue to promote with provinces and territories the use of the expanded eligibility for employer-sponsored training under the Labour Market Partnerships support measure funded through the bilateral Labour Market Development Agreements. This expanded eligibility took effect on April 1, 2018, and provides provinces and territories with increased flexibility to offer financial assistance to eligible employers to support approved training activities for their employees. This flexibility will help employers upskill or retrain their employees to adjust to technological or structural changes in the economy.

The Department will also continue its efforts to help Canadians to get the skills they need to get good jobs through the Skills Boost initiative in fiscal year 2019-20 and beyond. This includes monitoring and assessing the three-year pilot project designed to test new approaches to make it easier for adult learners to qualify for Canada Student Grants and Canada Student Loans, as well as the use of Employment Insurance (EI) flexibilities allowing eligible claimants to continue receiving EI benefits while on training.

The Department will also ensure that the Literacy and Essential Skills program continues to lead national efforts to improve adult literacy and essential skills for Canadians. Projects primarily support the testing, replicating and scaling up of effective and innovative training models with a particular emphasis on those designed for people facing multiple barriers to employment such as Indigenous people, newcomers, youth, and Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs). Through stakeholder consultations, the Program is also supporting an innovative Literacy and Essential Skills multi-year strategy in OLMCs, working to renew the Essential Skills Framework, enhancing outcomes measurement and reporting and is continuing to play a leadership role in testing social innovation initiatives, such as pay for success.

Supporting apprenticeship training and access to skilled trades

The skilled trades offer good job opportunities and are a key component of Canada's labour market. Working in partnerships with provinces and territories, the Department will continue to play an important role in 2019-20 to help strengthen apprenticeships in the skilled trades and support underrepresented groups (e.g., women, Indigenous people, persons with a disability and newcomers to Canada) to have access to the skilled trades by providing supports through the following programs:

• The Union Training and Innovation Program will continue to support union-based apprenticeship training, innovation and enhanced partnerships in the Red Seal trades. Thirty-four equipment cost-sharing projects and 19 innovation projects are in progress.
• The Women in Construction Fund will provide funding to organizations to enable them to build on existing models that have proven to be effective in attracting women to the trades, where they have been traditionally underrepresented.
• The Government will continue to help Canadians pursue the skilled trades through the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program that will encourage Canadians, including groups that face barriers to employment, to gain work experience, make informed career choices and prepare for careers in the skilled trades.
• In addition to the existing two apprenticeship grants, the Government introduced an Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women that is currently being piloted to encourage women to pursue careers in Red Seal trades, where they are underrepresented. Under the new Grant, women are eligible to receive $3,000 for completing each of the first two years of training, in combination with the Apprenticeship Completion Grant, which is valued at $2,000, resulting in a combined $8,000 in support. The pilot came into effect in December 2018 and is scheduled to last five years.

More students from low- and middle-income families access and participate in post-secondary education

As higher education becomes increasingly essential for Canadians to secure stable employment, the costs of obtaining education and training have also risen considerably. These mounting costs pose a particularly significant barrier to youth from low- and middle-income families. In recognition of these challenges, the Department delivers a range of education savings initiatives to help Canadian families to save for their children's post-secondary education, and offers various student financial assistance measures. Recent enhancements will help more students receive the financial assistance they need to participate in post-secondary education.

Education savings incentives

In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will continue to help people access and save for post-secondary education by making it easier to open Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) and increasing the take-up of the Canada Education Savings Grant and the Canada Learning Bond. More specifically, the Department will collaborate with provinces and territories, community-based organizations, financial institutions, Indigenous people and other stakeholders to promote the benefits of early savings in Registered Education Savings Plans and ease access to the Canada Learning Bond for children from low-income families.

The Department is collaborating with Service Ontario so that parents of Ontario newborns can make an online referral request to a financial institution to learn about opening a Registered Education Savings Plan and to subsequently request the Canada Learning Bond and the Canada Education Savings Grant. In 2019-20, the Department will closely monitor the impact of this new online referral service and, if successful, will explore similar initiatives with other jurisdictions.

A multi-year outreach strategy will also be advanced to further increase Registered Education Savings Plans and Canada Learning Bond take-up. The Department will assess proposals for new and innovative approaches to increase awareness and take-up of the Canada Learning Bond against three funding themes: Support for Indigenous people, Facilitated Access to the Canada Learning Bond, and Research and Innovation. The findings from these projects will help inform additional efforts that could be undertaken to increase take-up of the Canada Learning Bond. While the Department does not collect socio-demographic information about children eligible for the Canada Learning Bond, it is working with Statistics Canada for a 2020 iteration of the Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning to better understand the challenges vulnerable populations experience in accessing the Canada Learning Bond.

Student Financial Assistance

Canadians participate in an inclusive and efficient labour market

Canada's labour force participation and employment rates are strong relative to many countries, but significant and persistent underrepresentation in the labour force remains a key issue for groups such as youth, Indigenous people, women, people with disabilities and recent immigrants. Additionally, labour and skills shortages exist in specific sectors and regions of the country. The Department will continue to focus its efforts on ensuring that all Canadians can participate and succeed in the labour market, as well as supporting employers in accessing the talent they need to compete, in order to ensure that Canada's economy grows in an inclusive and efficient manner.

Supporting worker flexibility and adaptability

In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will continue to support provinces and territories in implementing the expanded eligibility for programs and services under the amended Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDA) that were announced in Budget 2017. The Department will also continue to work with provinces and territories to implement Workforce Development Agreements (WDA) to better respond to their local labour market needs and promote better outcomes for Canadians. Through 2019-20, the Government of Canada will provide provinces and territories with $2.2 billion in LMDA funding and $872 million under the WDAs, a total increase of approximately $376 million over previous funding.

Improving labour market outcomes for Indigenous Peoples

To support the renewed, nation-to-nation, government-to-government and Inuit-Crown relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples, the Department funds Indigenous organizations to design and deliver post-secondary education participation supports, skills development and employment training to Indigenous people.

The new Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program will be implemented on April 1, 2019, replacing the former Aboriginal Skills Employment and Training Strategy. There are four distinct streams to meet the specific needs of First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Urban/Non-affiliated Indigenous people to develop and upgrade their skills and improve their participation in the labour force. With funding of $2 billion over five years, and $408 million per year ongoing, announced in Budget 2018, the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training, provides the first long-term funding increase in almost twenty years. The Program is expected to serve 54,000 clients in 2019-20.

As a complement to the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, the Skills and Partnership Fund is a demand-driven, partnership-based program that funds projects that contribute to the skills development and training-to-employment of Indigenous workers towards long-term employment. From 2017 until 2021, projects supported by this funding will aim to have 8,000 Indigenous people employed following their participation in the Program.

As called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program and Skills and Partnership Fund will help to reduce the skills and employment gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, fostering a more equitable and inclusive society.

Consistent with Article 23 of the Nunavut Agreement, the Department will continue to conduct the Nunavut Inuit Labour Force Analysis, intended to support the development and implementation of Inuit employment and training plans by federal departments in Nunavut to increase Inuit representation in the Nunavut public service. The Department will also continue to participate in the Nunavut Sivuniksavut Academic Career Development program pilot, which provides six Nunavut Inuit students with practical work experience in multiple federal government departments and a Certificate in Nunavut Public Service Studies. Two students will directly contribute to the Nunavut Inuit Labour Force Analysis through the pilot.

Increasing opportunities for youth

As announced in Budget 2018, the Government is increasing the level of investment in the Youth Employment Strategy and improving the strategy's impact by building on the input of the Expert Panel on Youth Employment. The Panel recommended a number of modifications to Government of Canada programming, which included enhancing the Strategy to better target youth facing barriers and provide the supports they need. Budget 2018 provided an additional $448.5 million over five years to modernize the Strategy, which will create more opportunities for youth to develop the skills they need to succeed in a changing labour market. Program eligibility is also being expanded to allow all youth to participate in the Canada Summer Jobs Program, rather than restricting participation to students. In 2019-20, the Department will support the creation of up to 70,000 summer job placements for youth, up from 34,470 in 2015.

The Canada Service Corps promotes civic engagement among youth by creating and facilitating access to service opportunities that are meaningful to young people, while assisting them in gaining work and life skills. In 2019-20, the Department will gather feedback on service provided by youth and analyze evidence, insights and findings generated to lay the foundations and shape a national service program that is “for youth, by youth”.

Increasing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities

The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities Program is a $40 million per year federal employment program designed to assist persons with disabilities prepare for, obtain and maintain employment, thereby increasing their economic participation and independence. In fiscal year 2019-20, the Opportunities Fund will continue to support approximately 5,000 persons with disabilities. In June 2018, $18.4 million in new funding over six years was announced to enhance employer focused programming. With this additional funding, the Department will better support employers, particularly small and medium enterprises, through the development of projects focusing on job matching services, as well as projects that help employers develop inclusive recruitment and retention strategies.

Creating an efficient labour market

The Department will be ensuring a strong and responsive labour force through the following measures to help better address skills mismatches, and help workers and employers get the information they need to find and fill good jobs.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers to fill temporary labour and skill shortages when qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available, and helps ensure that the rights of foreign workers are protected. In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will continue to work with stakeholders to help Canadians, permanent residents and underrepresented groups to be considered first for available jobs, while continuing to address employers' immediate labour and skills requirements.

During this fiscal year, the Department will explore regulatory amendments to strengthen the employer compliance regime, clarify employer responsibilities and enhance protections for temporary foreign workers. The Department will also continue to implement the Migrant Worker Support Network pilot to strengthen the protection of temporary foreign workers.

In 2019-20, Job Bank will continue to connect employers with qualified candidates and provide Canadians and employers with the necessary information to make informed career, education, and labour market decisions. In particular, Job Bank will continue to enhance Job Match by introducing a resume sharing function to enable job seekers to apply for jobs. It will also implement a skill gap identifier to help job seekers get the training required for a better job, and a document upload tool for employers to submit requested documentation directly through Job Bank. The Department will also improve the Job Bank website and mobile app by displaying all Canada Summer Jobs opportunities in order to help youth find government funded employment, and pursuing new partnerships with private job boards to increase the number of jobs displayed.

The Sectoral Initiatives Program supports labour market forecasting systems, which inform workers of new skills demands and employment opportunities. In 2019-20, the Sectoral Initiatives Program will continue to support improved labour market outcomes by developing tools for jobseekers, educators and employers (e.g. a cybersecurity national occupational standard that includes occupational descriptions, skills requirements, and education levels). This will enable employers to locate potential employees with in-demand skills, and assist educators, learners, and job seekers to develop these skills.

Canadians receive financial support during employment transitions such as job loss, illness or maternity/parental leave

Improve the Employment Insurance Program to meet the needs of Canada's labour market

In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will continue to advance enhancements to the Employment Insurance program to ensure that it remains aligned with the changing labour market. The Department will monitor the implementation of the Employment Insurance Parental Sharing Benefit, which promotes gender equality and offers parents who share weeks of parental benefits either five additional weeks of standard parental benefits or eight additional weeks of extended parental benefits, depending on their choice.

The Department will also continue to monitor the implementation of the new Employment Insurance pilot project announced in August 2018, which provides up to five additional weeks of Employment Insurance regular benefits to eligible seasonal claimants who live in one of 13 targeted economic regions. The additional five weeks of regular benefits will be available to eligible claimants who start a benefit period between August 5, 2018, and May 30, 2020. This pilot project is expected to benefit 51,500 seasonal Employment Insurance claimants annually.

Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Please refer to Our Vision for Service Excellence highlight box on page 51 for details on the Department's plans to meet the needs of Canadians.

Description

Promotes safe, healthy, fair and inclusive working conditions and cooperative workplace relations.

Planning Highlights

In fiscal year 2019-20, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will seek to achieve the following departmental results under this Core Responsibility:

1. Workplaces are safe and healthy;
2. Working conditions are fair and inclusive;
3. Labour relations are cooperative; and
4. Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs.

The Labour Program is responsible for the Department's Working Conditions and Workplace Relations Core Responsibility. During this fiscal year, the Labour Program will continue to ensure that federally regulated workplaces and work conditions are safe, healthy, fair and inclusive through actions such as enhancing safety standards, contributing to closing the gender wage gap, providing greater flexibility to achieve work-life balance, supporting victims of family violence, and addressing harassment and violence in the workplace. These initiatives are expected to have a greater benefit for women, who comprise approximately 39 percent of federally regulated private sector employees, including those in senior management roles. They will also benefit other demographic groups that face elevated risks in these workplaces, including the LGBTQ2 community, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities (especially those with mental or learning disabilities) and workers living in Canadian territories. The initiatives under the Labour Program contribute to the Economic Participation and Prosperity as well as the Gender-Based Violence and Access to Justice pillars of the Gender Results Framework (GRF).

Workplaces are safe and healthy

All Canadians deserve to work in physically and mentally safe and healthy conditions. In 2019-20, the Labour Program will introduce regulations to protect employees from harassment and violence in federal workplaces. These regulations follow Royal Assent of the 2018 legislative amendments to the Canada Labour Code that created a new regime that will help employers prevent incidents of harassment and violence, respond effectively to these incidents when they occur, and support affected employees.

The Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund^{Footnote 1} provides workplace partners with funds to develop tools and resources to support the culture change needed to reduce workplace harassment and violence. In 2019-20, to further this goal, the Labour Program will convene a forum of the partnerships funded through this new funding initiative to provide an opportunity for parties to learn about initiatives across sectors.

Legislative amendments in Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1 provided new authorities to establish compliance and enforcement measures to enhance compliance by employers, particularly repeat offenders, through Part II and Part III of the Canada Labour Code. These measures include, for example, administrative monetary penalties (AMPs), public naming of employers who have committed an offence or violation, and greater power for inspectors to determine wages due. Through 2019-20, the Labour Program will develop regulatory amendments to establish the AMPs regime, with the objective of ensuring that employees in federally regulated industries suffer fewer accidents and injuries at work and receive the pay and benefits to which they are entitled.

In addition, amendments to the Canada Labour Code and the Wage Earner Protection Program Act are anticipated to come into force, which will transfer adjudicative functions to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 designated a new Head of Compliance and Enforcement to administer and enforce Parts II, III and IV of the Canada Labour Code. These changes aim to improve client service and reduce the time it takes to respond to labour standards and occupational health and safety complaints.

The Labour Program will also continue to work with employers and employees in federally regulated industries to raise awareness of the new measures and foster education regarding occupational health and safety and labour standards requirements under the Code, as well as on safety risks related to impairment in the workplace.

Safety standards will also be enhanced during this fiscal year, with updates to the use of safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing; and with new regulations on hazardous substances being introduced.

Working conditions are fair and inclusive

Canadians have a right to receive the wages and benefits they are entitled to for the work that they do. With significant economic and technological changes affecting the world of work, the basic rights of employees provided by the Canada Labour Code, such as hours of work, payment of wages, overtime pay, general holidays, protected leaves and rights on termination of employment require modernizing. Through 2019-20, the Labour Program will support the coming into force of legislative amendments and the development of regulations aimed at modernizing the Code, promoting good quality jobs, and ensuring that working conditions are fair and inclusive.

Work-life imbalance more negatively and differentially impacts vulnerable groups including women, immigrants and members of visible minorities, Indigenous, older workers and workers with disabilities. Studies show that women are more likely to provide family care and are at least four times more likely to be victims of spousal violence than men. In support of recent legislative amendments to promote flexibility in federally regulated workplaces, the Labour Program will develop regulatory amendments that create a right for employees to request flexible work arrangements, two new types of leaves (a leave for victims of domestic violence and a leave for traditional Indigenous practices), and other measures to improve flexibility in the workplace.

The Labour Program will work to protect more Canadians from unfair, exploitative and non-inclusive work conditions through 2019-20 through the introduction of regulations to protect workers in unpaid internships, clarify how federal labour standards apply to internships, and establish new labour standards protections for educational internships. These changes will also ensure that unpaid interns who are part of an educational program are entitled to labour standard protections, such as maximum hours of work, weekly days of rest and general holidays.

The Labour Program will also undertake regulatory work in fiscal year 2019-20 to support the implementation of recent legislative amendments that will:

• Improve eligibility to labour standards by eliminating minimum length of service requirement for general holiday pay and unpaid leaves such as sick leave, maternity and parental leave;
• Help employees achieve better work-life balance by introducing new breaks, notice requirements, rest periods and leaves, including a new five-day personal leave, of which three days are paid;
• Enhance the leave of absence for members of the Canadian Armed Forces reserve;
• Ensure that employees in precarious work are paid and treated fairly and have access to labour standards;
• Ensure that employees receive sufficient notice and compensation when their jobs are terminated; and
• Improve the administration of Part III of the Code through technical amendments.

The Labour Program will enhance the Wage Earner Protection Program to ensure that workers who are owed wages, vacation pay, disbursements, termination or severance pay receive greater support when their employer enters bankruptcy or receivership. The maximum payment has increased from the equivalent of four to seven weeks of Employment Insurance maximum insurable earnings. Currently, 46% of recipients are still owed money after receiving Wage Earner Protection Program payments; as a result of the changes to this program, this number is expected to drop to 32% and increase the number of applicants who are fully compensated by approximately 1,600 per year on average. Other changes to the Program will be implemented once regulations have been developed. These include providing coverage for foreign insolvency proceedings and improving coverage for business restructurings.

The new proactive pay equity regime for the federal jurisdiction received Royal Assent in December 2018 and will contribute to enhancing fairness in the workplace by ensuring that men and women in federally regulated workplaces receive the same pay for work of equal value. As per Budgets 2018 and 2019, in fiscal year 2019-20, ESDC will propose amendments to the Employment Equity Act and the Employment Equity Regulations that would introduce pay transparency measures for federally regulated private sector employers in order to reduce wage gaps and to provide Canadians with more information on the pay practices of employers in the federally regulated sector. The Labour Program will convene a symposium to share best practices and encourage Canadian employers to address issues faced by women in the workplace, from wage gaps to harassment. It will also contribute to reducing the portion of the gender wage gap in this jurisdiction that is due to the undervaluation of work traditionally performed by women.

In addition to the regulatory work and stakeholder consultation in support of the coming into force of the new Pay Equity Act, the Labour Program will work on the appointment of a Pay Equity Commissioner to the Canadian Human Rights Commission and develop educational materials and tools to assist workplace parties in understanding their rights and fulfilling their obligations. Work will also continue on the development of a Fair Wages Policy with Public Services and Procurement Canada, and with support from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

The Labour Program will also continue to dedicate a portion of its time towards strategically enforcing the Canada Labour Code. To do so, it will dedicate time and resources towards proactively monitoring repeat offenders and industries with higher rates of non-compliance. This will ensure that workplaces are safe and fair and that Canadians return home from work in good health with the wages they are entitled to for the work they have done.

In Canada, labour issues of national importance will continue to be addressed through cooperation with provincial and territorial governments. On the international level, the Labour Program will continue to assist partner countries in improving respect for international labour standards through multilateral initiatives and through the negotiation and implementation of labour provisions of free trade agreements. To foster compliance with internationally recognized labour standards, it will also continue to provide technical and capacity building assistance to developing partner countries.

Labour relations are cooperative

To support positive workplace relations, the Labour Program will continue to increase proactive activities with unions and employers to facilitate collective bargaining. For example, it will offer joint training workshops and help manage productive discussions between the bargaining parties. When disputes occur, the Labour Program will appoint mediators and conciliators to facilitate discussions and support negotiations between parties. Stakeholder engagement and regulatory work will also be undertaken to extend the existing equal remuneration provision in Part I (Industrial Relations) of the Canada Labour Code to enhance protections for certain categories of workers (e.g. airport workers).

Clients receive high quality, timely and efficient services that meet their needs

Please refer to Our Vision for Service Excellence highlight box on page 51 for details on the Department's plans to meet the needs of Canadians.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Employment and Social Development Canada's Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Description

Provides information to the public on the programs of the Government of Canada, and provides services on behalf of government departments and other partners.

Planning Highlights

In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will seek to achieve the following departmental results under this Core Responsibility:

1. Clients receive high-quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs; and
2. Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner.

Clients receive high-quality, timely and accurate government information and services that meet their needs

Through 2019-20, the Department will provide high quality, timely and accurate government information by:

• Providing ongoing operational support to departments that have migrated their content and websites to Canada.ca and continuing to improve the quality of the Department's web pages on Canada.ca to better meet client needs;
• Ensuring 1 800 O-Canada telephone general enquiries program continues to strive for accessibility and provide accurate information to Canadians, including those served through various customized information services; and
• Providing ongoing support to departments that are managing their social media accounts through the Social Media Account Management Service.

In this fiscal year, the Department will also provide clients with high quality and timely government services that meet their needs by:

• Strengthening the Department's approach to service delivery collaboration;
• Continuing to support veterans and their families through the delivery of information and services for Veterans Affairs Canada programs, as well as ensuring efficient referrals to Veterans Affairs Canada employees when required;
• Preparing to assist Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the In-Canada collection of biometrics (digital photograph and fingerprints) from foreign nationals. Service Canada will provide the service through its existing network of Service Canada Centres and Service Canada - Passport Service Sites;
• Conducting its second Client Experience Survey to provide strategic data on performance and client needs, which will help assess the impact of Service Transformation initiatives on the Department services and programs delivered to Canadians;
• Implementing its Regular Client Experience Data Collection by Channel initiative to monitor client needs on an ongoing basis;
• Improving access to in-person service by innovating delivery through outreach and technology; and
• Strengthening the partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories, to provide more in-person services to citizens in over 15 remote communities in the Northwest Territories.

Canadians can obtain a passport within Canada in a timely manner

In fiscal year 2019-20, the Department will continue working with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on modernizing the Passport Program to increase access to services, to improve efficiency, and to strengthen integrity and security of the Program.