Business coalition demands parties pay mind to issue in federal election

PAUL VIEIRA — National Post – Sept. 24, 2008

OTTAWA - The shortage of skilled labour in Canada is reaching the point of a “national crisis” that threatens to destroy industry in Canada unless dealt with by the political parties aiming to form the next government, a coalition of business groups, unions and colleges warned yesterday.

The group demanded that the politicians running for office begin discussing how to deal with the labour shortage, which it argued is “crippling” the economy and forcing many small and medium-sized businesses to ignore potential growth opportunities. Representatives expressed frustration as to how the current campaign, leading up to an Oct. 14 vote, has been dominated by name-calling, and tales of bird excrement and tasteless jokes.

“Canada faces many challenges that should be debated during the election campaign — and the skilled shortage crisis is one of them,” said Paul Charette, head of the group, named the Investing in Skills coalition, and chairman of the Canadian Construction Association.

“We need the government to understand how serious this issue is, particularly how it affects our productivity, our economy and our ability to compete globally.”

Jayson Myers, president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said the federal government faces a stark choice. “We can choose to invest in a skilled workforce that can compete with the best the world has to offer, or we can continue to turn our back to the problem and force employers to fight among themselves for an ever-more scarce resource.”

The group — whose membership includes manufacturers, retailers, health care firms and the Canadian Labour Congress — outlined various examples of sectors under pressure from the labour crunch. Among them: - The construction sector, which is in demand to build new infrastructure, or refurbish existing infrastructure, will need approximately 260,000 new workers over the next eight years; - The mining industry is expected to need 10,000 people per year or 100,000 people over the next 10 years; and - Railways are said to require 11,000 workers in the next four years (33% of its total current workforce) to fill technical positions that will become available.

Policy initiatives that Ottawa needs to address include a complete revamp of the immigration system, which has a backlog of nearly a million people and can take five years to process an individual’s application; and additional investment in skills training and post-secondary education, especially at the community college level that focuses on trades.

Tales of the labour crunch had previously been contained to Western Canada, given the booming commodity sector in that region in the country. But the skills coalition says it is heading all sectors across the nation, from small businesses to large corporations.

Some political leaders have recognized the labour crunch and have tried to act. Most notably, the provincial premiers agreed this past July to implement full labour mobility, meaning a carpenter trained in Manitoba could work in whatever province he chooses.

Internal barriers among the provinces prevented labour from moving freely from province to province — a situation the premiers would like to change as early as next year.