QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Labour Shortage
November 30, 2021
My next question is for the Government Representative in the Senate and has to do with another big problem facing our economy.
The Quebec Retail Council recently stated that there was an unprecedented number of jobs to be filled in various sectors across the province. There are more than 20,000 job vacancies. The Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec association has said that the labour shortage is the main barrier to Quebec’s economic recovery and that Quebec manufacturers have lost $18 billion over the past two years, which is a direct consequence of this shortage.
Last week’s Throne Speech made no mention of the labour shortages in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
Why is that, leader? Is it because the Trudeau government does not want to acknowledge the problem or because you have no plan to address it?
As Government Representative in the Senate, and at the risk of repeating myself, I have to say neither of those.
As part of Budget 2021, the government invested in helping workers reskill to meet the needs of employers. I have been told that the government has a plan to address this labour shortage by welcoming talented workers to Canada, keeping experienced workers in the workforce, boosting the participation of diverse Canadians in the skilled trades and address the specific needs of evolving sectors.
The problem in the sector that you mentioned is clearly not just a problem in Quebec, but elsewhere as well.
The Government of Canada will continue to work on this issue with its provincial and territorial partners.
This is a serious problem across the country. It requires more than just talking points. There are more than one million jobs unfilled across Canada and, according to Statistics Canada, there are record-high job vacancies in sectors all across our economy, including accommodation, food services, health care, construction, manufacturing and the retail sector. As we approach the holidays, it is traditionally one of the busiest times for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Yet, this year, we see countless examples of businesses cutting their hours and their days of operation per week because they can’t find enough workers. It is a problem right across this country.
Leader, can you tell these entrepreneurs why the Trudeau government didn’t think the severe labour shortage was worth mentioning in the Speech from the Throne last week or bringing forward a concrete plan for how to address this issue besides talking points?
The government’s plans, activities and actions through this period and going forward are not talking points. They are concrete steps to assist Canadians. I will not hide behind the constitutional jurisdiction over businesses, employment and labour, all of which are provincial. The government is working with provincial and territorial counterparts to address this problem, which we all recognize is a serious problem.
That said, this chamber should rest assured that the government continues to take the well-being of small businesses seriously, whether in our province or elsewhere in Canada, and will work with its partners to attempt to make life better for them.
