The just-released federal budget stresses skills training and infrastructure while charting a course toward balance by 2015-16.
On the infrastructure front, the budget introduces a new Building Canada plan to follow the original $33 billion plan launched in 2007. The new plan commits approximately $47 billion in new spending over 10 years starting in 2014-15 for provincial, territorial and local infrastructure.
On skills training, the budget introduces a Canada Job Grant, which allows employers to apply for a federal grant of up to $5,000 towards training a Canadian for an “existing” or “better” job. The grant must be matched by employers and provinces or territories, for a total of $15,000 or more.
The budget states that the detailed design of the grant will be negotiated with provinces and territories over the next year, as the grants will be funded under $500 million-a-year labour market agreements with provinces and territories.
The government expects to train nearly 130,000 Canadians annually, at an annual cost of $300 million, upon “full implementation” of the grant in 2017-18.
