TORONTO – Canadian labour ministers say they haven’t reached an agreement on a contentious federal program for job training, but they’ll keep talking.
Employment Minister Jason Kenney and his provincial and territorial counterparts say they’ll keep working together to find common ground on the Canada Job Grant.
Kenney says they had a “full and frank” talk today in Toronto about the provinces’ concerns and he assured his colleagues that he’s willing to be flexible.
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The provinces have complained that the program will shave $300 million from the existing Labour Market Agreement that the federal Conservatives brought in six years ago.
They say they’d also have to find another $300 million for the Canada Job Grant because it would require the provinces to kick in a third of the costs.
The provinces are worried that it could jeopardize existing provincially run programs that help disadvantaged groups.
With the existing agreement expiring at the end of March, the clock is ticking to hammer out a new deal.
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