Conclusions
During the course of our work as a committee, we heard a wide variety of perspectives. While there are some issues touching on work that go beyond the mandate of our committee, we feel our analysis and recommendations are a fair representation of the key issues facing Ontario residents and their government.
In conclusion we offer a few thoughts:
First, we recognize that the policy agenda on a subject as complex as this one is daunting. While each recommendation stands on its own, several recommendations reinforce each other. Choices will need to be made as to which recommendations to act on and what changes should be made first. We cannot let perfection be the enemy of the good. Acting early on even a few of the recommendations in this report will leave the people of Ontario better off.
Second, the committee considered several issues that go beyond the authority of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. They are shared with other jurisdictions and/or go beyond provincial jurisdiction.
Many – such as infrastructure development and designing portable benefits schemes – are apparent in this report. There are questions – for example, about immigration policy, definitions for, and the measurement of, the workforce, and corporate taxation – which we have not addressed because in our judgment they fall outside our mandate.
Third, the committee suggests the government look at other jurisdictions for ideas, best practices and collaboration. The issues we confronted in writing this report are vast, global and not easily solved. Government officials should interact with their counterparts in other provinces and countries regularly and systematically, to remain on the cutting edge in this fast-paced area of policy.
Lastly, the committee advises that the government continue this important work and establish an annual process to measure the views of provincial residents, assess trends in the labour market and policies to address them, and provide statistics for key employment indicators, thus producing a state-of-the-workforce report.
In closing, we reiterate our thanks to Minister McNaughton for tasking us with this important work and to the many individuals and organizations who took the time to speak with us or write in with their comments. There is much to do, and much has already been done by the Ontario government, but we believe this report and its recommendations represent a good start to clear and meaningful progress for everyone in the province.