Ontario Warns Canada Job Grant Risks Programs for Vulnerable Workers

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Ontario has openly warned of that Ottawa is planning to soon cut training programs aimed at vulnerable Canadians including youth and the disabled amid ongoing negotiations on Ottawa’s proposed Canada Job Grant. The new training scheme was initially unveiled by Ottawa in last year’s federal budget and was supposed to begin on April 1, however no deal has been finalized with the provinces as yet.

Detailing the main objection of the province, Ontario Training Minister Brad Duguid mentioned that Ottawa intends to pay its share of the program by cutting transfers to the provinces aimed at “under-represented” groups, including immigrants, persons with disabilities, aboriginal people, youth and older workers. Mr. Duguid mentioned that “the clock is ticking,” while referencing that provinces must soon decide whether to start cancelling some of these programs as of April 1. He mentioned that “provinces and territories are in a very awkward position of not knowing whether we’re going to have to cut some of those programs to accommodate the federal government’s Canada Job Grant.”

On the other hand, the spokesperson for federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney, Nick Koolsbergen, mentioned that any provincial decision to cut programs would be a “political” move. He stated that “we still have not received a counter offer to the offer we sent the provinces a month ago.” In its original plan, Ottawa aimed to create a grant worth up to $15,000 that Canadians could use to receive training for a specific job opening.