Canada: Business and Labor Form Alliance To Tackle Challenges Arising from Aging Workforce

As part of a country-wide initiative called the “Workplace Partners Panel” created as a response to labour and business concerns about the need for a collaborative approach to address Canada’s labour market challenges, leaders of Nova Scotia's labour and business sectors are meeting to discuss potential solutions to Nova Scotia’s labour market challenges arising from an aging workforce.

Rick Clarke, President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, and Elizabeth MacDonald, former Vice-President of Enterprise Services for Emera Inc., are chairing a “dialogue session” with the province’s business and labour, community, and government leaders, including representatives from the education sector, immigration settlement, youth and economic development.

“What we want is to help identify and document Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region’s best thinking on the issue of skills needs in the context of an aging workforce,” adds Liz MacDonald. “This is a critical issue for Atlantic Canada as the region deals with an aging population, a low birth rate, and the loss of young people leaving the region in search of other opportunities.”

Source: News Release Workplace Partners Panel (April 18, 2006)