Omnibus Amending Agreement to the Canada – New Brunswick Labour Market Agreement and Labour Market Development Agreement

Between

The Government of Canada (herein referred to as "Canada"), as represented by the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission

And

The Government of New Brunswick (herein referred to as "New Brunswick"), as represented by the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour

Whereas Canada, as represented by the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and New Brunswick entered into a Labour Market Agreement (the “LMA”) on February 29, 2008 pursuant to which Canada agreed to provide funding to New Brunswick towards the costs of programs that enhance the labour market participation of the unemployed who do not qualify for assistance under programs supported under the Employment Insurance Act and of employed individuals who are low skilled;

Whereas Canada, as represented by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission and the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and New Brunswick entered into a Labour Market Development Agreement (the “LMDA”) on December 13, 1996 pursuant to which Canada and New Brunswick agreed to certain arrangements relating to the assumption by New Brunswick of an expanded role in the delivery of labour market programs and services in New Brunswick with financial assistance provided by Canada under section 63 of the Employment Insurance Act;

Whereas, in Budget 2009, Canada announced various measures to address the economic downturn including:

Whereas for New Brunswick to access the additional funding referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the preceding recital, it is necessary for the parties to amend the LMA and the LMDA, respectively, to set out the terms and conditions upon which such additional funding is to be provided;

Whereas the parties also wish to amend the termination provisions of the LMA;

Whereas New Brunswick acknowledges the importance of ensuring that the public is informed of the federal government's financial contributions to New Brunswick's programs under both the LMA and the LMDA, including funding from the new investments announced in Canada's Economic Action Plan, and, therefore, reaffirms its commitment to federal visibility under the LMA and LMDA, including its commitments relating to public acknowledgement of federal funding for its programs and cooperation in public announcements and ceremonies;

Now, therefore, Canada and New Brunswick agree as follows:

  1. the LMA is amended in accordance with Schedule 1 to this Omnibus Amending Agreement
  2. the LMDA is amended in accordance with Schedule 2 to this Omnibus Amending Agreement
  3. Schedule 1 to this Omnibus Amending Agreement shall be read together with the LMA as if its provisions were contained in the LMA
  4. Schedule 2 to this Omnibus Amending Agreement shall be read together with the LMDA as if its provisions were contained in the LMDA
  5. this Omnibus Amending Agreement is made in both official languages and both versions are equally authoritative
  6. the parties agree that nothing in Schedule 2 to this Omnibus Amending Agreement shall affect the way in which Canada allocates, the current regular level of Employment Insurance funding of $1.95 billion per year to determine the maximum annual amount of the contributions payable to New Brunswick pursuant to Article 13.2 of the Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA). The parties acknowledge that the current methodology referred to in Article 13.2 for allocating among provinces or territories the current $1.95 billion is the allocation methodology set out in the letter of June 26, 1996 from Canada’s Deputy Minister of Human Resources Development to New Brunswick's Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and Labour
  7. the LMA and the LMDA shall in all other respects remain the same
  8. this Omnibus Amending Agreement shall come into effect when signed by both parties

Signed on behalf of Canada by the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, this 22nd day of May, 2009.

______________

Witness

______________

The Honourable Diane Finley,

Minister of Human Resources and

Skills Development

______________

Witness

______________

Janice Charette,

Chairperson, Canada Employment

Insurance Commission

Signed on behalf of New Brunswick this 22nd day of May 2009

______________

Witness

______________

Minister of Post-Secondary Education Training and Labour

Schedule 1 - Amendments to the Canada - New Brunswick Labour Market Agreement

1. The Canada-New Brunswick Labour Market Agreement is amended by adding immediately before the heading entitled “Interpretation” the following:

"Part 1 - Labour Market programs for unemployed and low skilled workers"

2. Section 1 of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 1 with "Part and Part 3"

3. Section 2 of the Agreement is amended by:

  • (a) replacing the word "Agreement" in line 1 with the word "Part"
  • (b) replacing the words "the Agreement" in paragraph (a) with "this Part"
  • (c) replacing the word "Agreement" in paragraph (d) with "Part"
  • (d) adding the words "under this Part" following "provided" in line 2 of paragraph (e)
  • (e) adding the words "provided under this Part" following "funding" in paragraph (f)

4. Sections 4 and 5 of the Agreement are amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in those provisions with "Part"

5. Subsection 11(1) of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 1 with "Part"

6. Section 13 of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 4 with "Part"

7. Subsection 16(1) of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 1 with "Part and Part 3"

8. Subsection 16(5) of the Agreement is amended by deleting the words "of this Agreement" in the third line of the sentence following paragraph (b)

9. Subsection 17(1) of the Agreement is amended by adding the words "under this Part" after "contributions"

10. Subsection 17(2) of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 2 with "Part"

11. Section 18 of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 1 with "Part"

12. Subsections 21(1) and (2) of the Agreement are amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in those provisions with "Part"

13. Section 22 of the Agreement is amended by replacing the words "the Agreement" in line 2 with "this Part"

14. Section 23 of the Agreement is amended by adding the words "for the funding provided under this Part" after "framework"

15. Subsection 24(1) and paragraph 24(2)(d) of the Agreement are amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in those provisions with "Part"

16. Subsection 25(1) is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 3 with "Part"

17. Subsection 27(2) of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 6 with "Part"

18. Subsection 28(1) of the Agreement is amended by replacing the word "Agreement" in line 3 with "Part"

19. Section 29 of the Agreement is amended by

  • (a) adding the words "Part 1 of" before "the Agreement" in line 2
  • (b) adding the words "Part 1 of" before" this Agreement" in line 4

20. The Agreement is further amended by adding after section 29 the following Part:

"Part 2 -Strategic training and transition fund"

Interpretation

29.1 In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires:

"eligible beneficiaries" means unemployed and employed individuals described in section 29.4

"eligible programs" means labour market programs and services provided by New Brunswick that are described in section 29.3

"eligible costs" means the program assistance costs and program administration costs incurred by New Brunswick during the transitional period in providing assistance to eligible beneficiaries under its eligible programs

"fiscal year" has the same meaning as in section 1 of this Agreement;

"program administration costs" means the direct and indirect internal operating costs incurred by New Brunswick in developing and administering its eligible programs

"program assistance costs" means

  • (a) the costs of financial assistance provided by New Brunswick under its eligible programs directly to, or on behalf of, eligible beneficiaries
  • (b) the costs of financial assistance or other payments provided by New Brunswick under its eligible programs to employers, third party service providers or delivery agents as reimbursement for costs incurred by them, or as payment for services rendered by them, in relation to the provision of assistance to eligible beneficiaries under its eligible programs
  • (c) payments to public or private training institutions for curriculum development costs that are directly related to the delivery of eligible programs for training of eligible beneficiaries

but, for greater certainty, does not include

  • (i) payments of basic income support to an eligible beneficiary client unless the payments are linked to active participation in an eligible program
  • (ii) payments to public or private training institutions for infrastructure costs

"transitional period" means the period beginning April 1, 2009 and ending March 31, 2011.

Purpose

29.2 The purpose of this Part of this Agreement is to set out:

  • (a) the labour market programs of New Brunswick that are eligible for funding under this Part, the eligible beneficiaries of those programs, and the eligible costs of those programs for which the new investments provided by Canada to New Brunswick under this Part may be used;
  • (b) the amount of funding to be provided by Canada to New Brunswick under this Part each fiscal year during the transitional period;
  • (c) the accountability framework for funding provided under this Part.

Eligible programs

29.3 During the transitional period, New Brunswick agrees to provide labour market programs to

  • (a) enhance the labour market participation of eligible beneficiaries by assisting them to return to employment or to otherwise obtain or keep employment or maintain or improve skills for employment
  • (b) support employers, and communities in dealing with labour force adjustments involving eligible beneficiaries

These programs may include, but are not limited to, programs that support the following activities:

  • (i) helping eligible beneficiaries to start their own businesses or become self-employed
  • (ii) supporting projects that create employment for eligible beneficiaries
  • (iii) supporting skills upgrading and training for eligible beneficiaries
  • (iv) providing mobility and relocation assistance for eligible beneficiaries
  • (v) supporting employers, and communities in developing and implementing plans or strategies for dealing with labour force adjustments

Eligible beneficiaries

29.4 New Brunswick agrees to use the funding provided under this Part to provide assistance to:

  • (a) unemployed individuals affected by the economic downturn in Canada
  • (b) employed individuals in sectors, occupations or communities affected by the economic downturn, including, but not limited to
    • (i) sectors under pressure due to declining demand or other factors (for example the automotive and forestry sectors)
    • (ii) occupations in declining industries (for example fisheries)
    • (iii) communities dependant on a single employer or sector (for example mining communities)

Financial provisions

29.5 Subject to the terms and conditions of this Part and Part 3 of this Agreement, in each of fiscal years 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011 Canada agrees to make a contribution to New Brunswick in respect of the eligible costs incurred in that fiscal year of an amount not exceeding the amount, rounded to the nearest thousand, determined by the formula

C x (A/B)

where

C is $245 million

A is the average number of unemployed persons in New Brunswick calculated by averaging,

  • (a) for fiscal year 2009 to 2010, the number of unemployed persons in New Brunswick each month during the months of August 2008 to, and including, January 2009 as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months;
  • (b) for fiscal year 2010 to 2011, the number of unemployed persons in New Brunswick each month during the months of August 2009 to, and including, January 2010, as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months;

B is the average of the total number of unemployed persons in Canada calculated by averaging,

  • (a) for fiscal year 2009 to 2010, the total number of unemployed persons in Canada in each month during the months of August 2008 to, and including, January 2009, as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months;
  • (b) for fiscal year 2010 to 2011, the total number of unemployed persons in Canada each month during the months of August 2009 to, and including, January 2010, as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months.

29.6 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), New Brunswick agrees and undertakes that the funding provided by Canada under this Part shall not displace normal provincial funding levels for existing labour market programs referred to in section 29.3 but that such funding shall be used to support incremental labour market program activities for eligible beneficiaries.

(2) Canada and New Brunswick agree that the undertaking in subsection (1) is not to be construed as preventing New Brunswick from applying government-wide measures to control expenditures. New Brunswick agrees that in the event of an expenditure control exercise, New Brunswick would not disproportionately target programs funded under this Part.

(3) The undertaking by New Brunswick under subsection (1) is also subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds by the New Brunswick legislature each fiscal year to maintain normal provincial funding levels.

(4) By no later than October 1 following the end of each fiscal year during the transitional period, New Brunswick agrees to provide Canada with a report by an independent auditor certifying that New Brunswick has complied, in all material respects, with the requirements in subsections (1) and (2).

29.7 Canada’s contributions under this Part shall be used solely for defraying the eligible costs. New Brunswick shall be responsible for expenditures on eligible costs incurred each fiscal year during the transitional period that are in excess of the amount of Canada’s contribution in that year under this Part.

29.8 Any payment by Canada under this Part of the Agreement is subject to there being an appropriation of funds by the Parliament of Canada for the fiscal year in which the payment is to be made.

29.9 Canada will make payment of its contribution under this Part in respect of New Brunswick’s eligible costs in each fiscal year referred to in section 29.5 in 2 equal instalments. The first instalment will be paid on or about April 15 of each fiscal year and the second on or about September 15. The amount of each instalment will be 50% of the maximum amount of the contribution payable in that fiscal year as determined under section 29.5 of this Agreement.

29.10 In the event that the amount of the contribution made to New Brunswick under this Part for a fiscal year referred to in section 29.5 exceeds the amount to which New Brunswick is entitled for that fiscal year, the amount of such excess is a debt owing to Canada and shall be repaid to Canada forthwith.

29.11 New Brunswick acknowledges that the amount of any unutilized funding provided to New Brunswick under this Part at the end of a fiscal year that must be repaid under 29.10 will not be reprofiled by Canada to increase the maximum contribution payable to New Brunswick in the following fiscal year.

Service delivery arrangements

29.12 Sections 14 and 15 of this Agreement apply to the development and delivery of eligible the programs funded under this Part.

Accountability framework

29.13 (1) New Brunswick agrees to include in its annual plans referred to in subsection 24(2) of this Agreement for fiscal years 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011,

  • (a) a description of the eligible beneficiaries who are to be targeted as priorities for eligible programs funded under this Part in the fiscal year
  • (b) a description of the priority areas for programming in the fiscal year which are funded under this Part and their intended objectives
  • (c) a brief description of the eligible programs, planned activities and projected expenditures for the fiscal year by priority area that are attributable to funding provided under this Part

(2) In identifying the eligible beneficiaries who will be targeted as priorities for eligible programs funded under this Part, New Brunswick agrees to give priority to eligible beneficiaries who are most in need, such as

  • (a) long-tenured workers in industries, sectors and regions who face structural adjustment and will likely need to change occupations or sectors
  • (b) workers who have been laid-off or are at-risk of lay-off but whose skills remain in demand, if not in the short-term over the medium term, and workers whose skill set is closely related to the skills required in growing sectors or for emerging opportunities

29.14 New Brunswick agrees to include in its annual audited financial statements provided under section 25 of this Agreement for each of fiscal years 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011, a statement showing the amount received from Canada under this Part in respect of the fiscal year and the amount of eligible costs incurred by New Brunswick in relation to the eligible programs funded under this Part. The statement shall also provide a breakdown of

  • (a) the program assistance costs incurred in respect of each eligible program during the fiscal year
  • (b) the total program administration costs incurred during the fiscal year

29.15 (1) In order to measure performance of the eligible programs funded under this Part, New Brunswick agrees to

  • (a) collect and compile, in the same manner as set out in Annex 2, the performance indicator information set out in Annex 2 about the eligible beneficiaries, the type of interventions provided under the eligible programs and the outcomes of the interventions funded under this Part in each fiscal year during the transitional period;
  • (b) provide the information to Canada, in the format and manner agreed to jointly by Canada and New Brunswick, no later than five months following the end of each fiscal year to which the information relates.

(2) Where there are activities supported under an eligible program during a fiscal year under this Part that do not involve providing assistance directly to eligible beneficiaries, New Brunswick, agrees to

  • (a) prepare a narrative report describing the activities supported, the level of funding provided in support of those activities and the expected outcomes of the activities
  • (b) provide a copy of the report to Canada no later than 5 months following the end of each fiscal year to which the report relates

29.16 No later than 2 months following the end of each quarter (for example each 3-month period) during the transitional period, New Brunswick agrees to provide to Canada a report on the estimated number of eligible beneficiaries served and the activities funded under this Part during the quarter. For greater certainty, the first report is due by September 1, 2009. The second is due by December 1, 2009. The third is due by March 1, 2010 and the fourth is due by June 1, 2010. Similarly, the reports for fiscal year 2010 to 2011 are due by September 1, 2010, December 1, 2010, March 1, 2011 and June 1, 2011.

29.17 New Brunswick agrees to include in its annual report to the people of New Brunswick referred to in section 27 of this Agreement for each of fiscal years 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011 the results attributable to the funding provided by Canada under this Part. The results shall be based on the performance indicators referred to in section 29.15.

29.18 New Brunswick agrees to include in the evaluation referred to in section 28 of this Agreement an evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the eligible programs and the funding provided in relation thereto under this Part of this Agreement.

21. The Agreement is further amended by adding immediately after section 29.18 and before section 30 the following heading:

"Part 3 - General provisions"

22. Section 31 of the Agreement is amended by replacing the words "New Brunswick’s eligible programs" in lines 2 and 3 with "under this Agreement".

23. Section 33 of the Agreement is amended by

  • (a) adding a comma after "25" in line 2, and
  • (b) deleting the word "and" after "25" and adding "and 28.10" after "27".

24. Section 36 is amended by adding the following sentence at the end of the section:

"In this section, "eligible costs" means to "eligible costs" as defined in both Parts 1 and 2."

25. Section 37 is replaced by the following:

"37. On or after March 31, 2011, either party may terminate this Agreement at any time without cause by giving 12 months notice of intention to terminate."

26. Annex 3 to the Agreement is amended by adding immediately after section 6, the following section:

"7. In this Annex, "eligible programs" refers to eligible programs funded under both Parts I and 2 of the Agreement."

Schedule 2 - Amendments to the Canada - New Brunswick Labour Market Development Agreement

1. The Canada -New Brunswick Labour Market Development Agreement is amended by adding after section 13 the following Heading and Section: Targeted 2 year increase in contribution costs of New Brunswick benefits and measures.

13A.1 Notwithstanding anything in section 13, in each of fiscal years 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011, Canada agrees to increase the maximum contribution payable under section 13 towards the costs of New Brunswick’s provincial benefits and measures by an amount not exceeding the amount, rounded to the nearest thousand, determined by the formula:

C x (A/B)

where

C is $500 million

A is the average number of unemployed persons in New Brunswick calculated by averaging,

  • (a) for fiscal year 2009 to 2010, the number of unemployed persons in New Brunswick each month during the months of August 2008 to, and including January 2009 as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months;
  • (b) for fiscal year 2010 to 2011, the number of unemployed persons in New Brunswick each month during the months of August 2009 to, and including January 2010, as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months;

B is the average of the total number of unemployed persons in Canada calculated by averaging,

  • (a) for fiscal year 2009 to 2010, the total number of unemployed persons in Canada in each month during the months of August 2009 to, and including, January 2010, as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months;
  • (b) for fiscal year 2010 to 2011, the total number of unemployed persons in Canada each month during the months of August 2009 to, and including, January 2010, as determined by Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey data for those months.

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