Thursday, December 03, 2009

Minister Ambrose

Question to Minister Ambrose March 2009

Madam Minister, it is critical to find ways to create employment as you see the number of unemployed Canadians increasing. Have you considered meeting with the provincial Ministers of Labour to coordinate all available means of employing those seeking employment?

Saskatchewan’s Premier and the Mayor of Regina are attending a job fair in Ontario to recruit people from Ontario to relocate in Saskatchewan. This is interesting when you consider that there are thousands of qualified people in Saskatchewan, many with university degrees, that cannot find employment right here in Saskatchewan. Has the federal government considered establishing a national database that the unemployed can access online or at Human Resources Centres across Canada to post their resumes?

It seems there is a lack of coordination between the federal government and the provinces as we move through the current economic crisis. I look forward to your response.

I respectfully submit these questions without prejudice.


Answer May 2009:

Dear Mr. Birkbeck:

On behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Labour, I am writing in response to your e-mail of March 25, 2009, concerning your recommendations to create more job opportunities. Service Canada is committed to helping Canadians with the tools and services that individuals need to find available job opportunities, particularly in these challenging economic times. The Department offers valuable information and services to assist individuals in searching for employment and preparing for today's job market.

For your information, Service Canada's Job Bank Web site (www.jobbank.gc.ca) provides an electronic listing of job openings across Canada in a national database to assist job seekers in their search for employment. The Job Search function helps job seekers find currently available employment opportunities across the country. One of the Job Bank tools available to job seekers is the Job Match function, which allows job seekers to advertise their job profile and receive notices of matching jobs. A job seeker may link directly at the following address: http://seekers.jobbank.gc.ca/common-commun/login-connection.aspx.

A job seeker may also register at the same address to receive daily job alerts if they wish to be advised when a new employment opportunity matches their job profile. Also available on that Web site is the Resume Builder that allows a job seeker to create and save several résumés along with writing tips and samples for guidance. Moreover, the Career Navigator allows a job seeker to explore other career options by answering questionnaires and reviewing labour market information pertaining to wages, other possible occupations and employment prospects.

Service Canada has also created a new "Life Events - Looking for a Job" page (http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/lifeevents/job.shtml), which may assist job seekers further. There, you will find links to many other job seeker resources, including income support and training information.

I wish to inform you that the Government of Saskatchewan has had a fully devolved Labour Market Development Agreement with the Government of Canada since 1999. For more information on what work opportunities and programs the Government of Saskatchewan offers, I invite you to visit the following Web site: http://www.gov.sk.ca/work-in-saskatchewan.

I hope that the above information is helpful in understanding what services are available to job seekers.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Catherine Colterman
Director General
Service Offerings and Implementation Directorate
Citizen Service Branch
Service Canada