In a federal budget expected to steer clear of any major changes, the focus will be on skills training, filling jobs, improving Canada鈥檚 infrastructure and boosting the manufacturing sector, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has suggested.
In a letter to MPs ahead of Thursday鈥檚 budget delivery, Flaherty said those key priorities will help guide a shaky economy through a difficult period, as North America faces competition from developing countries on the rise.
The Conservative government has already highlighted the need to match skilled workers with high-demand jobs and address the current gap between training and recruiting.
"There are too many jobs that go unfilled in Canada because employers can't find workers with the right skills," Flaherty wrote in his letter. "Training in Canada is not sufficiently aligned to the skills employers need.鈥�
Flaherty said the upcoming budget, which the Conservatives are calling Canada鈥檚 Economic Action Plan 2013, will 鈥渢ake steps to address this important issue.鈥�
Some estimates peg the number of job vacancies in the country at 260,000. Some of those positions are not being filled because of a lack of skilled workers, or because qualified candidates won鈥檛 move to different parts of the country for work.
The problem is especially pronounced in western provinces.
Flaherty has dismissed reports that the federal government is planning to centralize skills training and take away transfers to provinces. He did, however, say that both provinces and Ottawa need to do a better job of connecting skilled people with available jobs.
Jayson Myers, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, an industry and trade association, said there is a demand for skilled workers in every province, but many young people are not aware of their options.
Myers told CTV鈥檚 Power Play that many high schools across the country have shut down shops and technical programs, so students may not know where to turn to get post-secondary training and education in order to pursue careers in construction, manufacturing or other trades.
Myers said provincial and federal governments must also work together to address 鈥渓abour mobility issues鈥� and make it easier for Canadians to work outside their region or province.
Barbara Kirby of the Mining Industry Human Resource Council also acknowledged geographic challenges in her industry, but said a number of Canadian mines fly their workers in and out of job sites.
She said investing more money in educating the youth about jobs in the mining industry would help fill vacant positions.
Closing tax loopholes
Newly minted Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said that while skills training is 鈥渃ritical鈥� to boosting the economy, the feds must also move to close tax loopholes if they want provinces to prosper.
鈥淭here are corporations that are operating in Ontario and earning very good money, but their head offices are in other jurisdictions in other parts of the world, paying less tax,鈥� Sousa told Power Play on Tuesday.
鈥淲e need to ensure that those loopholes are closed, that those earning monies in Ontario are paying taxes and their fair share for the province of Ontario so that we have more money for schools and education and hospitals and infrastructure and roads.鈥�
Sousa said Ontario has already cut taxes for corporations, mid-sized and small business in an effort to attract more investments and stay competitive. But foreign-based investors should not be able to avoid paying their share, he said.
Flaherty has said the government plans to address tax loopholes and control spending in order to balance the budget, but will not raise taxes.
Flaherty is also expected to announce in the budget an extension of the $8.8-billion Building Canada Fund, which covered various infrastructure programs by sharing costs with municipalities, provinces and the private sector.
He is expected to renew the accelerated capital cost allowance, which allows manufacturing firms a quicker writeoff for investments in machinery and equipment.
With files from The Canadian Press
