CANADIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Canadas Economic Action plan helps Canadian workers

Friday, 26 June 2009

As companies experience a temporary slowdown, more Canadians can keep their jobs through Canada's Economic Action Plan which is helping workers and businesses by extending and easing access to Work-Sharing agreements.

"Our Government knows that, by keeping Quebeckers, and indeed all Canadians working, we can minimize the impact of this difficult economic time," said the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister responsible for the Outaouais region. "Improvements to the Work-Sharing program provide companies like Louisiana-Pacific Canada and their employees with easier and extended access to Work-Sharing agreements while these companies recover from temporary slowdowns."

Minister Cannon made the statement on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, in an address to employees at Louisiana-Pacific.

Companies in key sectors of Canada's economy, such as forestry and manufacturing, are already using the Work-Sharing program. As of June 14, 2009, Work-Sharing was benefiting over 31,000 Quebecers and more than 135,000 Canadians. In Quebec, there were over 750 agreements, with 64 of them directly helping the forestry sector. There are seven active Work-Sharing agreements in the Outaouais region involving over 250 employees, including more than 70 at Louisiana-Pacific.

Work-Sharing is an element of the Employment Insurance (EI) program that can be instrumental in assisting businesses experiencing a temporary slowdown caused by factors beyond their control. It is designed to avoid layoffs by offering EI income support to qualifying workers willing to work a reduced work week while their employer recovers. Under Work-Sharing, employers can retain employees and avoid expensive re-hiring and re-training costs, and employees are able to continue working and keep their skills up to date.

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