By Canadian Press

Business, labour groups urge new cabinet to get to work on priority issues

Oct 26, 2021 | 11:56 AM

OTTAWA — Business and labour groups are urging the new federal cabinet to get to work on priority economic issues like the skilled labour shortage, supply chain issues, fixing employment insurance and ensuring an equitable recovery.

Robert Asselin, senior vice-president of policy at the Business Council of Canada, says given the challenges, he found it wasn’t obvious that the economy was front and centre as the new cabinet was rolled out.

He says labour shortages were a key area of concern for Canadian executives and that it will require co-ordination across the government to ensure there’s enough skilled people in the right industries.

Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said in a statement that the government must prioritize an equitable recovery as women have been disproportionally impacted by the economic crisis that came with the pandemic. 

The new cabinet saw shifts in several posts related to the economy including moving Seamus O’Regan to minister of labour and Dominic LeBlanc taking on infrastructure as part of his portfolio, while Chrystia Freeland is staying on as finance minister.

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Rebekah Young, director of fiscal and provincial economics at Scotiabank, said Freeland holding her post creates a level of consistency on economic policy, but that the minister signalled last week that the government’s COVID-19 support strategy was shifting to become more targeted.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2021.

The Canadian Press