Agreement no.8 to amend the Canada-Quebec Labour Market Development Agreement in principle

List of acronyms and abbreviations

• Canada: The Government of Canada
• EI: Employment Insurance
• Québec: The Government of Québec
• The Agreement: the Canada-Quebec Labour Market Agreement in Principle
• The Implementation Agreement: The Canada-Quebec Labour Market Implementation Agreement

Between

The Government of Canada (hereinafter referred to as "Canada"), represented by the Minister of Employment and Social Development styled as the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission

And

The Government of Quebec, hereinafter referred to as “Quebec,” represented by the Ministre du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale and the Ministre responsable des Relations canadiennes et de la Francophonie canadienne

Hereinafter referred to as “the parties”.

Preamble

• Whereas the Parties concluded the Canada-Quebec Labour Market Agreement in Principle (hereinafter “the Agreement”) on April 21, 1997, pursuant to which Canada and Quebec agreed on the provisions for implementing active employment measures in Quebec funded from the Employment Insurance Account;
• Whereas the Parties concluded the Canada-Quebec Labour Market Implementation Agreement (hereinafter “the Implementation Agreement”) on November 28, 1997, in order to implement the Agreement;
• Whereas the Agreement was amended on July 20, 2007, April 30, 2009, August 25, 2014, December 21, 2016, February 23, 2018, March 27, 2019, and July 10, 2019;
• Whereas the steel and aluminum industries as well as their related industries continue to face economic adjustments that result in significant negative impacts on jobs and workers in Quebec;
• Whereas given the unique nature of the situation in Quebec, Canada is prepared to provide a one-time targeted increase to the federal contribution to the costs of active employment measures in Quebec for fiscal year 2019 to 2020 provided under the Agreement to support workers directly or indirectly affected by these economic adjustments in Quebec;
• Whereas the Parties agreed to amend the Agreement to reflect this one-time targeted increase to the federal contribution to the costs of the active employment measures in Quebec.
• Therefore, the Parties agree to amend the Agreement, as amended from time to time, as follows:

Clauses

1. the Agreement is amended with the addition of the following title and sections after section 7I:
   • One-time targeted increase in the contribution to the costs of active employment measures in Quebec for the steel and aluminum industries and related industries
   • 7J. notwithstanding the provisions in section 7, for fiscal year 2019 to 2020, the maximum contribution payable under section 7 towards the cost of active employment measures in Quebec is increased by an amount not exceeding the amount determined by the following formula, rounded to the nearest dollar:
     • A funding floor of $500,000 is provided to Quebec if there is direct and indirect employment in the steel and aluminum industries and where the following formula results in an allocation of less than $500,000:
       • (A/B) x $25 million

         Where:

         • A is the total number of workers directly and indirectly employed in the steel and aluminum industries in Quebec in 2016
         • B is the total number of workers directly and indirectly employed in the steel and aluminum industries in Canada in 2016
   • If this formula results in an allocation greater than $500,000 and where there is direct and indirect employment in the steel and aluminum industries, the maximum contribution payable under section 7 towards the costs of active employment measures in Quebec is determined by the following formula, rounded to the nearest dollar:
     • (A/B) x C

       Where:

       • A is the total number of workers directly and indirectly employed in the steel and aluminum industries in Quebec in 2016;
       • B is the total number of workers directly and indirectly employed in the steel and aluminum industries in Canada in 2016;
       • C is the $25-million investment to support workers in the steel and aluminum industries made available to the provinces and territories, less the sum of the amounts distributed to provinces and territories eligible for the funding floor of $500,000.
   • Direct employment in the steel and aluminum industries is based on Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census Table 98-400-X2016290 and North American Industry Classification System codes 3311, 3312 and 3313.
   • Indirect employment in the steel and aluminum industries is based on a National Job Multiplier of 3.14 for North American Industry Classification System code 3311, 3.01 for North American Industry Classification System code 3312, and 2.20 for North American Industry Classification System code 3313.
   • As a result of these formulas, Quebec will receive an additional amount of $6,609,083 in 2019 to 2020, which will be paid in 2 equal instalments.
   • 7J.1 the first instalment will be paid upon the signing by the Parties of this amending agreement.
   • 7J.2 the second instalment will be paid at the written request of Quebec. This request must be made by Quebec no later than February 3, 2020.
   • 7J.3 Quebec agrees to identify the use of this additional funding for the specific purpose of supporting workers directly or indirectly affected by the economic adjustments facing the steel and aluminum industries and related industries in Quebec in its audited financial report submitted to Canada under the Agreement.
2. the Parties agree that no part of this amending agreement will have an impact on how Canada allocates the current Employment Insurance funding ($1.95 billion per year) when determining the maximum annual amount of contributions paid to Quebec, in accordance with section 7.1 of the Agreement. The Parties acknowledge that the current method set out in section 7.1 of the Agreement for allocating the current $1.95 billion to the provinces and territories is the allocation method described in the letter dated June 26, 1996, from the Deputy Minister of the Department of Human Resources Development Canada to the Secrétaire général associé des Affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes du Québec.
3. in all other respects, the Agreement shall remain unchanged.
4. this amending agreement shall be read together with the Agreement and the Implementation Agreement, as amended from time to time, and takes effect as if its provisions were part of the Agreement.
5. this amending agreement comes into force once it has been signed by the Parties.

Signed on behalf of Canada
in Gatineau
this 12 day of August 2019

____________________________
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Employment and Social Development
styled as the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Signed on behalf of Québec
in Québec
this 5 day of September 2019

____________________________
The Honourable Jean Boulet
Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity

____________________________
Graham Flack
Chairperson, Canada Employment
Insurance Commission

____________________________
Sonia LeBel
Ministre responsible for Canadian Relations
and the Canadian Francophonie