What businesses want from the Ontario budget
CBC
Businesses in Ontario hope Thursday's budget from Premier Doug Ford's government will offer some solutions to the labour force crunch they're facing.
Statistics Canada released its latest job vacancy figures Tuesday, showing 323,000 unfilled jobs in the province.
In advance of each budget, organizations that represent businesses submit their annual laundry lists of requests to the provincial government. What makes this year's requests different from the usual is the level of concern over finding workers.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce says 87 per cent of large businesses in the province face labour shortages.
"There are very significant gaps that need to be addressed," said Claudia Dessanti, the chamber's senior director of policy.
About seven per cent of all jobs in the food services and accommodations sectors are unfilled, according to Statistics Canada data. The chamber of commerce says there are also "significant labour shortages" in the transportation, construction, child care, tourism, retail and health care sectors.
Dennis Darby, chief executive of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), an industry lobby group, says the companies he represents are finding it hard to recruit workers.
"What we hear from manufacturers is finding people with the skills they need is their number one concern," said Darby in an interview.
On Tuesday, Ford revealed one of his government's budget plans for addressing the labour crunch: extra funding to build, upgrade and operate skilled trades training centres, which are typically run by unions, businesses and industry associations.
Asked what his government will do immediately to deal with worker shortages, Ford pointed to immigration.
"We've been on the federal government non-stop from the day we took office to bring more people in faster, cut through the red tape, get people their work permits, that they can come and start training and lay down their roots," said Ford during a news conference in Vaughan.
Labour Minister Monte McNaughton referenced the recent deal with Ottawa giving Ontario the power to select up to 18,000 immigrants per year to fill specific labour shortages, predominantly in health care and skilled trades.
McNaughton added the government also aims to boost the size of Ontario's labour pool by helping people move from social assistance to the workforce.
During the government's pre-budget consultations in January and February, a range of corporate lobby groups called for tackling the workforce issue:
Proceedings got underway in B.C. Supreme Court Monday in a case that will determine whether faith-based organizations can continue to prohibit medical assistance in dying (MAID) within their facilities.
Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola said Monday that she would challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year's midterm elections, vowing to shake up the establishment to make life more affordable for Alaskans.
The federal Conservatives are accusing the Liberals of rewarding "Beijing's intimidation" after some parliamentarians on a trip to Taiwan decided to return earlier than planned.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to northern B.C. to meet with Coastal First Nations before leaving on his trip to China, a government official confirmed to CBC News.
Police have charged another man in connection with a 2023 gold heist at Pearson airport, saying he was arrested after flying into the country on Monday.
Documents show the Ontario government has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on external legal fees to fight a successful legal challenge — which the province is appealing this month — against its plan to remove bike lanes on major Toronto streets
Gulf Island Peat Moss is monitoring a waste pile of shavings on its property in Foxley River after the pile caught fire Monday morning, a company representative says.
Officials from the London, Ont., and several neighbouring counties will push the Ford government for improved passenger rail service in the region when they meet with the Ontario government at a conference in Toronto this month.
A provincial court judge has issued a stern warning to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to “rethink their approach” when it comes to dealing with complaints of threats and harassment in intimate partner relationships.
Some provincial funding targeted to struggling rural hospitals in the northeast is a boon but some CEO’s say it falls short of keeping them afloat.
A Ukrainian family in Halifax says the federal government needs to provide answers to the thousands of Ukrainians who are now learning that it could be more than 50 years before their permanent residency applications are processed.
On a cold January morning, the owners of Yassou Souvlaki & Donair in Fredericton are busy heating up the kitchen, slicing vegetables and donair meat to prepare for their lunch-hour crowd.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the CN Police Service are investigating following a train collision overnight in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Que.