Major progress has been made on the issue of developing a national Seasonal Workers Strategy. That is the message coming out of a meeting of Canada's Labour Market Ministers that wrapped up last week in Victoria, B.C.
"We're very pleased to see movement on a national Seasonal Workers Strategy because now there is a recognition by federal, provincial and territorial governments that the challenge of a seasonal economy is a national issue instead of just a regional issue, a position that the Government of Prince Edward Island has taken for years," says Don MacKinnon, Minister of Development, who represented the Province at the meeting and presented the case for the new approach.
Agreement was reached to establish a federal-provincial working group that will identify options for review that deal with the concerns of seasonal workers. This comes in response to provincial concerns expressed for the last three years at the Annual Premier's Conferences that recent changes to the Employment Insurance Act during the 1990's have unfairly impacted upon seasonal workers, hurting rural communities across the country.
Minister MacKinnon called attention to the fact that there was a broad-based consensus from every region of the country that seasonal worker issues need to be addressed. "Ministers from Newfoundland to British Columbia agreed with us that this issue needs to be looked at. It is certainly encouraging to see the federal government willing to address this issue and eager to work in partnership with the provinces. Much of the credit for this national consensus should go to Premier Binns, who has tirelessly championed the idea of a Seasonal Workers Strategy at the Annual Premier's Conferences ever since taking office nearly three years ago, laying the groundwork for this issue to finally receive national attention," Minister MacKinnon commented.