The Honourable Pierre S. Pettigrew, Minister of Human Resources Development, and the Honourable Wes MacAleer, Prince Edward Island's Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, today signed the Canada-Prince Edward Island Labour Market Development Agreement. This new agreement, which takes effect immediately, sets out a new partnership for the design and management of labour market development programs and services for the unemployed in the province.
"This partnership agreement with Prince Edward Island, and the recent agreements with seven other provinces, are designed to respond to the needs of Canadians and to build on the Government of Canada's commitment to foster flexible partnerships with the provinces and territories," said Minister Pettigrew. "This agreement demonstrates a commitment by both governments to give the highest priority to help the province's unemployed get back into the work force."
"This is a 'made-in-PEI' agreement," said Minister MacAleer. "The province of Prince Edward Island is joining forces with the Government of Canada to work towards a common goal — helping unemployed Islanders return to work more quickly. The signing of this agreement will assist in the transition to self-reliance and enable us to continue to pursue further growth and opportunities throughout Prince Edward Island."
During the initial five years of the agreement (1997-2002), the Government of Canada will spend over $107 million from the Employment Insurance (EI) Account to support active employment benefits and measures, including partnership initiatives with community-based organizations.
Under the agreement, the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island will work together to design and tailor labour market employment programs to meet the specific needs of communities, employers and the unemployed on the Island, and to complement provincial programming in this sector.
Residents of Prince Edward Island will have access to a wide variety of programs and services funded through the EI Account to help them achieve self-reliance and get back into the work force. These programs and services could include: targeted wage subsidies; targeted earnings supplements; self-employment assistance; job creation partnerships; labour market partnerships; and employment assistance services.
Today's announcement acts on commitments made by the Government of Canada to withdraw from labour market training and to seek new partnerships with the provinces and territories in labour market development. These commitments were made in the February 1996 Speech from the Throne and in the Labour Market Development proposal made to the provinces and territories in May 1996.
As part of its efforts to renew the federation, the Government of Canada is negotiating labour market development agreements with other provinces and territories. The Canada-Prince Edward Island Labour Market Development Agreement is the eighth to be signed by the Government of Canada in the past five months. The other agreements are with Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Québec, Nova Scotia and British Columbia.
For more information, contact: Anna Kapiniari, Office of Minister Pettigrew, Government of Canada, Ottawa, (819) 953-2353; Catherine MacInnis-Gordon, Regional Communications, HRDC, Charlottetown, (902) 566-7653; Jake Baird, Executive Council Office, PEI Provincial Government, (902) 368-4506; or Susan MacKenzie, Dept. Of Economic Development & Tourism, PEI Provincial Government, (902) 368-5079.