The Honourable Randy Boissonnault: The Future of Canada’s Workforce

October 10, 2023

The Empire Club of Canada Presents

The Honourable Randy Boissonnault: The Future of Canada’s Workforce

Chairman: Sal Rabbani, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada

Moderator
Sal Rabbani, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada

Distinguished Guest Speakers
The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Government of Canada
Nicole Foster, Director, AWS Global AI/ML & Public Policy Lead, Canada

Head Table Guests
The Honourable Rakesh Choudhary, Canada's Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages
Christopher Goodwin, Chief Financial Officer, Thunder Tool & Manufacturing Inc.
NourHachem-Fawaz, Senior Vice President, Citi Commercial Bank
Andrew Hodd, President/Founder, Build a Dream
Kristofer Potts, President, Vantage Venues
Anthony Primerano, President, Norseman Construction
Director of Government Relations, LiUNA
Pedro Barata, Executive Director, Future Skills Centre
Leslie Woo, Chief Executive Officer, CivicAction
Ana Bailao, Head of Affordable Housing & Public Affairs, Dream
Ryan Adam, Vice President, Government and Public Relations, Toronto Star

Introduction
It is a great honour for me to be here at the Empire Club of Canada today, which is arguably the most famous and historically relevant speaker’s podium to have ever existed in Canada. It has offered its podium to such international luminaries as Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn, the Dalai Lama, Indira Gandhi, and closer to home, from Pierre Trudeau to Justin Trudeau; literally generations of our great nation's leaders, alongside with those of the world's top international diplomats, heads of state, and business and thought leaders.

It is a real honour and distinct privilege to be invited to speak to the Empire Club of Canada, which has been welcoming international diplomats, leaders in business, and in science, and in politics. When they stand at that podium, they speak not only to the entire country, but they can speak to the entire world.

Welcome Address by Sal Rabbani, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada
Good afternoon, and welcome to the 120th season of the Empire Club of Canada. My name is Sal Rabbani, and it's an honour to stand before our community, both in person and virtually, as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Empire Club.

To formally begin this afternoon, I want to acknowledge that we are gathering today on the Traditional and Treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the homelands of the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples. We encourage everyone to learn more about the Traditional Territory on which you work and live.

Today, we are pleased to welcome the Honourable Randy Boissonault, Canada's Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, who will speak about "The Future of Canada's Workforce," in a changing global economy. Welcome, Minister. Thank you for being here today.

There are 20 million workers in Canada. We have world-class talent, our talent's diverse and highly skilled, almost 60 percent of adults have a college or university degree, higher than any country in the G7. But we're not without challenges. Last week, I was talking to a business owner in Toronto who shared that they have to turn away work, because finding the right people for their business continues to be difficult.

Over the past five years, labour shortages and skills mismatch have been the number one conversation starter in all my conversations with business owners. Labour shortages are amongst the most stubborn challenges for companies, and our growth as a country. Skill shortage has impacts at all levels. It slows down growth, it penalizes the competitiveness of a company, it impacts negatively the quality of its products and services. We've had some good news recently, such as record population growth and strong job creation. These are lifting off some of the pressure. But the hiring challenges are still there, and are still persistent. Finally, young generations are helping to drive changes in how and where work is done. Young generation are tech and digital savvy, they seek purpose and meaning in their work, they value work-life balance, they value diversity and inclusion. So, what can we offer them as organizations? How can we attract them, engage them, and retain this young talent that has so much to offer?

As part of our commitment at the Empire Club, we want to ensure that the next generation has access to our professional and business community, and we've got sponsored tables here for each event this season. And I know there's a group of students here from TMU, the University of Toronto, and York University. Thanks for joining us today. What does the future of work look like for our young colleagues here today? Can they expect their future workplaces to reflect their values and their expectations? As the global economy evolves, Canada continues to punch above its weight. But we need to step up our game to continue to thrive. Tectonic shifts related to the future of work, the rise of artificial intelligence, the impact of the pandemic on how we work and where we work from, as well as an aging population, are creating a complex set of challenges for both workers and businesses. I look forward to the Minister's speech for ideas and opportunities for our collective future.

For those joining us online today, if you require a technical assistance, please start a conversation with our team using the chat button on the right-hand side of your screen.

Now, the Empire Club is a not-for-profit organization, and we'd like to recognize our sponsors, who generously support the club, and make these events possible and complimentary for our online viewers to attend. Thank you to our Lead Event Sponsors, AWS, Amazon Web Services, and LiUNA; thank you to our Supporting Sponsor, the Greater Toronto Hotel Association; and thank you, also, to our Season Sponsors, AWS, Bruce Power, and Hydro One.

It is now my pleasure to invite the Randy Boissonault, Canada's Minister of Employment, Workforce, Development and Official Languages, to the podium. Welcome, Minister Boissonault.

The Honourable Randy Boissonault, Minister of Employment, Workforce, Development and Official Languages, Government of Canada
Well, thanks very much, Sal. Good afternoon everyone. Bonjour, tout le monde, and it's a great honour to be here with you at the Empire Club. And look, let me start, friends, by condemning, in no uncertain terms, the despicable terrorist attacks on the people of Israel. The targeting of civilians in this manner has horrified people around the world, and as I shared over the weekend—and as did our government—we stand in solidarity with the victims of this horrific attack, and we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself.

Now, as did Sal, I want to also acknowledge that we are on the Traditional meeting ground of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples. The First Nations, Métis, Inuit Peoples who have been here for millennia. And we also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with Mississaugas of the Credit.

So, this is my first opportunity to address such an august group of leaders and professionals in my role, now, as Minister of Employment and Workforce Development and Official Languages—and it's such a long title, it barely fits on a card, so we shortened it. I realized very quickly in this role that I'm actually the Minister of Jobs. I'm also a minor in the Ministry of People. Because if you have people, plus skills, plus the jobs you all have, we're gonna have an even brighter future. And where are we today? In the heart of Toronto, home to some of Canada's biggest and most successful companies, and nonprofits, and organizations, many of which are represented in the room today. And I thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here with us today, to join with me and our government to help us puzzle through some of the issues we are facing as a nation. [Remarks in French].

In many respects, what you have accomplished in this room, in your businesses, in your organizations, is the very promise of Canada. Your companies provide Canadians with good, stable jobs, growing and strengthening the entire Canadian economy at a time of unprecedented change. Now, when I or any of my colleagues highlight our historically low unemployment numbers, we know that it wouldn't be possible without all of you. It's also true that we need each and every one of you to be partners with us in government to extend to everyone the promise of Canada. The jobs of yesterday, the jobs of today, and the jobs of tomorrow, all look differently. It's more rare, today, to hold one job throughout your lifetime, than it is to have multiple careers over the arc of your working life.

And look, I can share this with you because, just this weekend, we had Thanksgiving dinner. And my niece, Skyler, 20, is now at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, after holding down three full-time jobs since she—three-part-time jobs, since she graduated from, since she graduated from high school. And she decided that that was enough, and she's now studying visual communications, digital design. Her older brother Ethan is a steam fitter, having a lot of fun, long hours, making good money. And he said to me, "Uncle Randy, can you give me the, can you give me the link to that First Time Home Buyers thing? Because I've got a goal. And I, can, can I get there in eight years?" I'm like," If you put your money in now, that 40,000 is gonna go to 45,000, you can take it out tax-free, and that can be a down payment on your house before you're 30". And, you know what else he said? He said, "I'm really interested in what others are doing." He's like, "I'm in the trades right now," he said, "but maybe, just maybe, I'll do digital communication too."

What I got from that conversation, and from their friends, is there's excitement about the opportunities that are here before young people—and we have so many here in this room. I think everybody's going to be fine, with the amount of political scientists, and budding lawyers, and bankers, that are in the room. And also, people that want to make sure that our nonprofits are well supplied with great talent.

So, where are we in the workforce in Canada? Just last month, September, 65,000 new jobs added to our economy. Right now, Canada has historically high employment numbers; 20million people at work across this country; the strongest labour force market in my lifetime, and I'm now 53. And friends, we've got a puzzle. We've got 780,200 job vacancies, and a million people that want to get to work. How does that add up? So, we've got a skills mismatch, we've got a geography mismatch, we've got a people time and place and competencies mismatch, that we need your help to solve for. There are a million more people working today than there was when the COVID pandemic hit. And so, on that side, we are on track.

And now, these numbers paint a robust picture, but it's only some of the frame. So, Canadians are facing rising cost of living, higher food and home prices, and a rapidly changing work environment. So, what have we done about it? Recently, you might've seen—and this was Deputy Prime Minister Finance Minister Freeland, who announced recently, that we are putting $20 billion more into the CMHC Loan Fund. Why does that matter? Because it will give builders more liquidity, and that move alone is 30,000 new units a year, in perpetuity, as long as that fund is there. We also removed GST from purpose-built rentals, which is changing the dynamic, in terms of the cash flow on those numbers. That will also be thousands more units. And I know there's at least one organization, one developer in this room, that said that's at least five thousand for them. And so, good for you, and let's keep dreaming into the future and building. And my friends, 3.5 million units is what we need, between now and 2035. And I know we can get there together.

What else have we done? The Housing Accelerator Fund, the Rapid Housing Initiative, also will make sure that we get more units built—and if you haven't looked into it, check out the First-Time Home Buyers Program. Because you and your partner investing $40,000 each can pull out $90,000—yes, $10,000 from the government—that you pull out tax free, when you're ready, and that can be part of your down payment. So, we're taking these actions, and many more because it's the right thing to do. And some of you might have also noticed that we've asked the top grocers in this country—and international suppliers—to stabilize grocery prices. Because it's time that we're, we know, and Canadians know, that we're all in this together.

So, we know that the labour force is changing, our population is aging, leaving gaps in key occupations as people retire; as I mentioned earlier, 780,000 job vacancies right now. Out of OECD countries, Canada has the lowest productivity, and it's predicted to get worse. Now, there is something about this, because when I became politically aware at 12—some 41 years ago—the first thing I remember Prime Minister Mulroney at the time talking about was Canada's productivity challenge. And 41 years later, we're still, we're still in the same bucket. So, education, plus immigration, plus great innovation, still leaves us with a productivity challenge, when we are compared to other countries. And while Canada's economic growth is strong, challenges arise when that growth outpaces the ability for many businesses, here in the room and across the country, to actually find the workers with the right skills. Let me give you an example. By 2028, we expect 700,000 skilled trades workers to retire. In my own home province of Alberta, we are currently 30,000 short on skilled tradespeople, and 40,000 are going to retire in the next 5 to 8 years.

For all of these reasons, we need you, I need you, as private sector leaders, as fulsome partners in this journey, to train people on your work sites, in your companies, so that they can meet the challenge of the future. And more to it, I need you to tell us when you're doing it. StatsCan's not going to reach into your company and ask you how much training you're doing. So, let us know when you're doing this, so that we can understand the quantum that's going on in this country of what you were putting into our workforce. And I know that unions are doing a great job of the dues that they get from their members, training up their own members. I see it across the country—and we'll get into that in a minute.

So, why does it matter? Because when workers are not able to seize opportunities because they don't have the right skills, or haven't had the same opportunities, everyone loses. I'll give you a stat: last year, Canada had $25 billion in unrealized economic value, just due to skills vacancies. That is a material cost to us as a country, and it's a material lack of money to your bottom lines, as businesses. So, what are we doing about it, how do we move forward, what we're looking for—and we're investing nearly a billion dollars in apprenticeship supports through in-school training, project funding, and support for Red Seal programs; help Canadians specialize. [Remarks in French].

Today, only one in six Canadians work in the skilled trades, and that's a number we need to grow. I was talking with some folks from the, from the tech sector here, the game sector, here. And friends, not only do we have to esteem trades earlier in our lives in the schools, like at elementary, we also have to do the same with tech. And you'll remember Navdeep Bains in our government doing CanCode, right? Helping kids to code. There's only so far, so much we can do in the education system. We need provincial, we need provincial partners in that space. So, I need you to do your work to make sure we have provinces on board, so that not only are we esteeming trades, but we're showing people that they can also have a future in Cloud computing— and yes, thank you to AWS for your sponsorship today.

What else are we doing? $7.5 billion into skills development for Canadians. That gets training to almost a million Canadians a year, and those are the partnerships that we have with the provinces. They are called Labour Market Development Agreements, and they help us make sure that Ontario Works, and Alberta Works, and BC Works, is fully staffed up to get people the training they need. We do direct funding to unions, through the Union Training Incentive Program, and we invest in people for the jobs of today and of tomorrow. Jobs in pharma, hydrogen, digital media, artificial intelligence, robotics, tourism, hospitality, construction; and yes, as always, there'll be plenty of lawyers and bankers—and yes, Ryan, lots of journalists—because we want to tell the story of the future, and we want to be able to do it together.

And through Budget 2023, we invested another $625 million into a top up for the Labour Market Development Agreements. We also removed the interest on Canada Student Loans, and Canada Apprenticeship Loans, to make it easier for young people to get the training they need, and the Apprenticeship Incentive Grants help cover expenses during training, easing the financial burden of going into the trades. And we cannot underestimate the crucial role that colleges, CEGEPs, technical institutes, Polytechniques, play in creating a diverse and resilient workforce—and I know many of you are here today, and we appreciate your partnership—and that's why we've invested more than $46,000,000 to help these organizations scale up and do more training.

I was in London a few weeks ago at our National Caucus, and we got to go to the local LiUNA training site. And I can tell you, I went to one of the classrooms. And there's, there's tables, and there's a screen in the middle. And then there's this thing—I don't want to touch the microphone, but—there's this arm coming up and there's an iPad in front. And as the instructor is doing the instructing in English, the iPad is translating into the language of the student. Sometimes there's a dozen languages in that class, as they're getting ready to have people on the job site. Not only that; there was a, there was an opticians, there was a dental clinic, and there was a physiotherapist clinic right in the Union Hall, to meet the demands and the needs of the members. That's innovating, and that is remarkable. And LiUNA, thank you for sponsoring today. We appreciate your sponsorship.

So, why does this matter? Because investing in workers with the right skillsets creates good jobs, and ensures Canada's prosperity for all, and it protects our standard of living. Now, as Alberta's Minister in the Federal Cabinet, let me talk about climate change. I know what it's like to be a Liberal in Alberta, a rare commodity. There are two of us. If you get me and George Chahal in the room, you have one hundred percent of the Liberal Government Caucus in the room. And I say this because Albertans know that we have to save the planet. I couldn't go outside Monday of the May long weekend or Monday of the September long weekend this year because the smoke index was 11.5, and I don't breathe well after about 10. It's the same for many Canadians across the country. And we know where capital markets are heading. We know that international markets are saying "You have to do better, you have to bring your emissions down." And a majority of Albertans agree that we have to bring emissions down, and Canadians are on board. And guess what, friends? We will not be able to do it without Alberta workers, we will not be able to do it without Pathways Alliance. There is no pathway to net-zero without doing it together.

And so, why do I mention this? Well, as Alberta's representative in the federal cabinet, we can take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity, while ensuring that workers lead the way. Just last week, after working for two years to get it done, we had fifty CEO's of different companies and organizations come to Alberta, and they called it "One Alberta One Canada." Three days of lobbying on the Hill. And they'd never felt so heard, they never felt so welcome. I said, "Why didn't you come before?" Because this is one big vast country, and we need everybody rowing the same direction. And as we look to the economy of the future, we know that we can meet head on the great challenge of climate change, and that we're going to need people in the workforce that are ready when they hit the job site to do that in a green, and constructive, and climate-resilient way.

Canada will lead the economy of the future by positioning our workers to solve this generational challenge. So, a few weeks ago I announced $140 million through the Sectoral Workforce Program, Solutions Program to create more opportunities for 22,000 Canadians in the green economy. Now, our government is taking a Team Canada approach on this. I don't know if you ever met my colleague François-Philippe Champagne—another guy that has a similar level of energy. And look, let's talk about Stellantis and Volkswagen, and let's talk about Ford. And in my part of the country, Air Products, the largest net-zero hydrogen plant in North America, or Heidelberg, Heidelberg Materials is putting up a carbon capture use and storage stack next to their plant—where Ryan and I know it very well, because it was iconic on the skyline—first net-zero cement plant in the world, in Edmonton, Alberta

Why does that matter, friends? Because after water, the number one—the number two resource that human beings use the most is cement. And if we're going to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment, then we need more examples of Heidelberg across the country. And guess what? We need the workers that understand that building a CCUS stack is not that different from building a heavy upgrader. But it sure is different to the planet.

Our talent, our businesses, and the government that not only believes in climate change, but sees the economic opportunity of investing in renewable energy, those are the bridges we're building. I talked to Bruce Power at their table. I hope you look at the budget in '23, my friends, because we put $42 billion on the table to triple the electricity capacity in this country in the next 12 to 15 years, because foreign direct investment requires it of us. Toronto Global is here, and they work well with Edmonton Global, and Calgary Economic Development, and Vancouver Global. If we are going to attract the companies of the future, Cloud computing, or heavy industry—or for heaven's sakes, the last example that we just did in Québec. We need to have green electricity. And we need to have enough that five, to six, to seven years from now, it doesn't burn out the electricity grid. I can tell you, in Edmonton Centre where I live, in a community called Inglewood, I can have four electric vehicles on my block—and the fifth one burns out the grid. So, how do we have the promise of Canada, if we don't have the basic infrastructure in place? We need to have the workers, and the talent, and the partnership with government, and labour, and industry to get there.

Last week, I met with a company called H Tech out of BC; hydrogen-based company. Just hired one hundred people ,and within the next year-and-a-half are going to hire one hundred more. And what are they doing? Training them on site, because they need them trained up so fast, and in an area that is so novel, they're just taking on that training themselves. These are jobs that pay mortgages, these are jobs that put food on the table, that build a strong and resilient economy. [Remarks in French]

So, before I hand the mic back to Sal for our fireside chat, I can say that ensuring the success of Canada's future is a shared responsibility. Since the early '80's, Canada's GDP per capita ratio has lagged behind that of other developed countries, including the US. And if we are to reverse this trend, we need companies, large and small, in this room and in others, to invest more, to spend more on research and development, and to innovate, so that we can build this bright future together. And when we look around the world, there are examples we can follow. There are examples like Germany, that has brought labour, and industry, and workers around the table with government for decades, because they're working toward the same goal.

So, I look to all of you in this room, the employers, and the visionaries for Canada's workforce, those of you who are toiling away to get us the intel and the info we need, to get people their first and best job. And I ask you to continue investing in our fellow Canadians, to ensure that everyone benefits from the opportunities that are coming to share in the success of Canada's future. Together, we can ensure that everyone enjoys the promise of Canada. And my commitment to you, is that in this effort, you will always have a willing and collaborative partner in our government, and in me.

Let me end with a quote. It's a little bit of a poem, from French poet Yuma polynya, who said something like this:

Come to the edge.
It's too high.
Come to the edge.
We are afraid
Come to the edge.
And they came.
And he pushed.
And they flew.

I can't wait to see how high our country and its people will soar, when we solve for these challenges, and build the modern workforce of Canada. Thank you. Merci beaucoup.

Sal Rabbani
Thank you very much. I think we're on—oh, excellent. Well, thank you, Minister, for being here today. You know, as we know, Canada is continuously striving to become a diverse and inclusive society, and we try to translate some of these values into our workplaces and businesses. When you spoke about some of these future opportunities, you know, I was hoping that you might be able to take a minute to expand, especially as it relates to what you're doing with respect to minority and immigrant communities.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Sure. So, thank you for that warm applause, and thanks Sal, again, for this opportunity. It's, it's great to know that there's so many willing partners in this room. I think, start with childcare; $30 billion-decision by our government and by a local MP—who happens to be the Deputy Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, now—Chrystia Freeland, who decided that the time had come to make a generational investment in childcare. And why did that matter? Because women went from 69 percent of the workforce to 85 percent, outpacing the US. In the last three years. Think about that. It had always been waiting to be there. It just needed a partner, our government, to come in. And our partnership with Ontario is strong on that.

That's one piece. The other piece is our 50:30 Challenge. So, if you are part of Corporate Canada, what is your ratio? Are you 50 percent women? Do you have 30 percent of people that, you know, come from an underserved community, a diverse community? Because that's really important. When you take a look at what Ahmed Hussein has done, now what Marcy Ien is doing, and our Black Caucus has done, to make sure that we have the Black Entrepreneurship Fund, that we have the Black Philanthropic Fund, and that it is about making sure that people get seen. Here's a stat for you. Which is the province that has the third highest concentration of people of African descent?—put it in your mind—it's Alberta. That probably surprised you. And of that, Edmonton has a higher concentration of Black Canadians than Calgary, and this is something that is transforming la francophonie, it's transforming our communities, and it is about making sure that people can see themselves in the workplace, and in the workforce.

And I never will forget meeting with Salesforce when I was special adviser to the Prime Minister and LGBTQ issues. And I met with Tony, their Diversity CEO, and he said that they, when they were coming up with the big, hairy, audacious goal for Salesforce, it was to be the company that would usher in the age of diversity. And as we're going through all kinds of nonsense in the school system about protecting kids or not protecting kids, we've got companies saying, "If you are a Person of Colour, here is your group that can make sure that we see you, if you are an LGBTQ2IS person, here is your group that can help you be seen." I mean, for heavens sake, CN has diversity groups now. This is a transportation company that has trains moving around the country, and they've figured it out. Because employees that feel welcome in their workforce are going to give you more in the workforce. And so, part of our job is to make sure that opportunity is there for you and to be your partners.

And look, we don't get everything right, as well. We have our own targets inside the Federal Public Service, and some of those targets we have yet to hit. And I can say, as Official Languages Minister, I know there's also a dynamic, there, and we've got things coming in terms of, you know, federally-regulated businesses, and also high concentration of francophone populations—and we're going to work through those regulations later. But what are you doing in your company to make sure that Indigenous people are in your company? Because if you are thinking about critical minerals, if you are thinking about construction, if you are thinking about the hospitality sector, if you are thinking about anything to—any skill, literally, I can tell you, there are Indigenous people that want to work, there are persons with disabilities who want to get to work. They just need the pathway to find your employment. And going to the well once and saying, "Nobody applied," is not an answer. There are groups in this room that can help you pathfind, and find people who want those jobs. Again, 780,000 vacancies, a million people who want to get work. Let's get pathways to that work.

Sal Rabbani
Thank you.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Probably longer than you wanted. You want me to go shorter on the next one?

Sal Rabbani
No, it's fine. You know, but you know, it prompted a thought....

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
There's an off switch somewhere, I just haven't found it yet.

Sal Rabbani
I want you to build on this other theme, you know, why does being so open and tolerant create a natural competitive advantage in Canada? Especially in the business space. And where do you see opportunities?

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
The Aga Khan once said that "Diversity is a fact, pluralism is a choice." And this country chose pluralism. Other than First Peoples, we are all newcomers. Doesn't matter that my newcomers came here in 1642; doesn't matter that the immigration, the citizenship ceremony that I'm going to go to later this month, those citizens have been citizens for four minutes. They have the same rights, they have the same privileges, they can run for office the same that I can. And so, if you take a look at places around the world that haven't figured out that working together, and coming together, and putting your differences aside to build for the future isn't a good idea, well, then we're, we got some, we got some challenges.

And so, for me it is about, I mean, you just have to look at where companies are wanting to set up shop. There is no accident that Volkswagen—as François-Philippe Champagne says it, because he spent so much time in Germany—Volkswagen chose us over the United States. Why? They didn't get more money than they would have gotten in the United States. They came here because of what Canada is. They came here because they know what St. Thomas is, and they know what Ontario and Canada is, and they see social mobility for the people are going to be working in that battery plant, in a way that other parts, other partners of us in the G7, haven't mastered yet. And I can tell you, there are people around the world who cannot believe that we not only have a government-sponsored immigration stream, but that we have an immigration stream where group of five citizens can put up $35,000, and bring people to their community, and help them be part of the community. It literally blows other country officials' minds that we do that. And that's who we are as Canada. So, diversity is baked into who we are, as a people. And it means bring everybody along, right? Everybody. Look, what are we trying to do as a government, building an economy that works for everyone.

Sal Rabbani
Thank you. I was taking a quick note while you were speaking, and I think this is...

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
I gave you enough time.

Sal Rabbani
...top of mind—well, I was trying my best, here. And I'll take a turn. You know, there's a sentiment that I think many are experiencing, you know, of anxiousness...

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Yep.

Sal Rabbani
...about the future; buying a home, finding a job, having a family. You know, what can you say to this group, here, and others, in terms of, you know, how we alleviate some of this anxiety?

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
I feel the anxiety. I do doors almost every two weeks—sometimes because of a week like this, it pushes to the weekend—I see people on the doorsteps. I know who struggling; I know which people in my riding of Edmonton Centre are feeling the pinch the most. And so, the first thing is to let people know that we know that times are challenging right now. And I can give you, as former associate minister of finance, all the economic fundamentals of why we're doing so much better than everybody else, and nobody cares. Because that's not what it means when you're, you know, 500 bucks short to make your bills at the end of the month. Where do you find that 500 bucks?

I got a guy, Andrew, wrote into me. He says, "Look, I love your householder—what the hell are you talking about, you know, this summer stuff, when I I'm literally having to go get another job to pay my mortgage?" So, I called Andrew, and I listened to Andrew. And I said, "Andrew, this is a temporary—we're still shaking out of the pandemic." And we talked about interest rates, and we talked about our government being able to do everything right to the line, so that we don't make Tiff Macklem's job harder. Okay? So, what do we do? There was a Grocery Top Up recently. There was also the fact that Canada Workers Benefits have been doubled. The stuff I mentioned in my speech for students, that was one of the most popular adjustments we made in the last little while. Just to give you a sense of the Grocery Rebate, right? 467 bucks? And there are people in this room who are like, "Oh, that doesn't go very far." Guess what? The people that need that 467 bucks? It is another month that reduces their anxiety, and sometimes more. So, we went as close as we could, because we do not want to put inflationary pressure into the system, so that Tiff raises rates.

And I guess my other message—and I winked at it on the housing thing—is we've been here before. We built a whole bunch of houses in the '40's and '50's, after the Second World War. Again, in the '60's and '70's, when all the Baby Boomer kids started moving out and wanting their own places, we built massive amounts of housing across this country. And we're doing it again. Coming out of the cabinet retreat and out of the National Caucus, there are three words: build, build, build.

And just so that I can be crystal clear about this: we are a fraction, a tiny fraction of what we need to build as a country, which is why we are unlocking the trillions of dollars that we need from the private sector to get this done, why we are pushing Toronto, and Vancouver, and Montréal, and Edmonton, and Calgary, and Halifax, and Winnipeg, and smaller communities in between, like London and Vaughan, to get their—what do you call it?—zoning to the point where we can densify, and so that we can build the units that we need to see. Because we've done this before, and we can do this again. And our job, as a federal government, is going to be to keep a critical mass of those units affordable. Because hospitality table—how many apartments, how many places around the country do you have, you could get the workers, but you don't have any place to house them? It's an issue in the mountain parks, it's an issue in other parts of the country. And so, friends, if you're building something, and you have the ability to house workers in whatever it is you're building, do that. We've done it before. We can do it again.

That's a little bit more than what I talked to Andrew about. But we've been here before; we've got another tough year ahead. And on the other side of it—like, I wanna, almost wanna see if you could see what I see. Like, it's like we had this huge portage. And now, we thought there would be a lake—oh, turns out there's a huge incline we gotta climb up, before we get to the lake. And my friends, the people that want to come to this country, the amount of investment that the United States and our allies want to put in this country, given the geopolitical tensions, and the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine, and has completely upset the geopolitical map, the world is looking at Canada in a way that has never looked at it before.

And I can tell you that things are happening in the energy space, too. Enbridge just concluded a huge deal here in Toronto, the largest one of the year. And so, my friends, we've gotta hang on for another year. And we have this conversation next year, we are in a better space. And certainly, by '25, you will see those anxiety levels diminish.

QUESTION & ANSWER

Sal Rabbani
Thank you. And we've got quite a few folks from the construction and building industry, from labour. Here's a question that comes up, you know, how do you work on, what you say, "build, build, build" with your counterpart in housing?

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Sean's my seatmate in the House of Commons. I don't think that was an accident. I, Sean needs labour; I need Sean to build. We need Sean to be with communities, to build. Marc Miller is also important in this space, new Minister of Immigration, right? And so, we're going to have a delicate balance here, friends. And again, solving for the 780,000 vacancies, there's tens of thousands of those in construction. And I know, my colleagues know it, because they're literally coming to me saying, "Can we just go overseas and bring the builders here, and do it?" And the answer to that is, maybe. But I need social license to do that. And I need to work with our union partners, and our private sector partners to go and do that, if that's what we're going to do. And I also need the provinces on board. And those of you who have access to municipal leaders, make sure that they are taking down the barriers.

I talked to—when I was tourism minister, I talked to a guy who was trying to build this hotel. He was in his eighth year of permitting—eighth year—and his third redesign. Like, at that point, you just give up and go do something else, and take your capital and go somewhere else. So, if we are going to be serious about homegrown people building homegrown assets, we need to reduce the red tape. And we will do our part as the federal government. We're definitely doing it on the critical mineral side, on the energy side. I mean, look, we've put tens of billions of dollars on the table for Carbon Capture Use and Storage Credits, for Green Credits, that is how we got Stellaris, and Ford, and Volkswagen here.

And so, we've set the table, folks. Like, anybody who wants to say that we responded to Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act hasn't been watching the movie, since we formed government in 2015. We've, actually—before the IRA came, we had $80 billion on the table; now we're up to 120 billion. You scale that 10-times, we're actually investing more than the US are, per capita, for a green future here in Canada. And so, I need us to get building, to get busy. And I will do everything I can on the labour side of the equation, with Seamus O'Regan. And in terms of developing the talent here—so, post secondary institutions, private sector, Upskill Canada, whatever you can do to make sure people get the micro-credentials, and the ability for other employers to see what that worker has. Because, friends, it's okay if people get skilled up and go to a better job, because you're going to have the pathway for the next worker to come in. We've got to see it as a whole ecosystem, not just as a race for talent. Because I think there's a lot that we can do.

And why are we bringing in 500,000 people a year by 2025? Because one hundred percent of the labour force growth in this country is from newcomers. And by 2032, our entire population growth will come from newcomers. It is who we've always been, and it is who we will continue to be. And so, we need immigration settlement agencies to be robust and well funded, and we need everybody in this room, and communities, to make sure that we're making sure that people stay, and have a bright future here.

Sal Rabbani
Thank you. You know, I applaud the work at all levels of folks, you know, that sell Canada abroad. And Canada has many strengths.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Yep.

Sal Rabbani
We've got natural resources, an educated workforce, to name a few. How do we all work together? How do we collectively leverage these strengths, you know, and how can you, you know, make sure that we optimally use some of our most significant national assets?

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
I mentioned some of my colleagues earlier, Minister Freeland, Minister, Champagne. We are at an opportunity, now. We have an opportunity as a country to position ourselves for a remarkable century. I know that sounds a little bit like Wilfrid Laurier in the 1800's, when he said that the next century was going to be Canada's. But if you take a look at what we've done with resettling Ukrainian refugees, with the strong stance that Canada has taken against Putin in that war. Like, if the coalition is holding together, everyone, understands that it's because Canada is leaning in every day to keep that coalition together. And that's the Prime Minister, that's Minister Jolie, that's other ministers. And as part of that, the United States is rewiring its entire supply chains. So, everything, from continental energy to the fact that President Biden has instructed the US military to make investments in Canadian mining plays, is real. And lest somebody in the room says, "Yeah, but it takes us 10 years to get permitted." That's the old government.

Marathon Mine, Northern Ontario, from the time they came to us for a permit, to the time they got the permit—including environmental review and Indigenous consultations—two years. Two years, to pull palladium out of the ground. So, my friends, we have collapsed those kinds of environmental reviews; we've done them at the same time with the provinces. Because we understand that if we're not at the speed of business, we're not going to seize these opportunities.

The Japanese are interested in us, the South Koreans are interested us, the Germans are interested us. And we are just now starting to flex our muscles as a hydrogen power. And hydrogen is not a tomorrow fuel—Jonathan Wilkinson has a hydrogen vehicle—hydrogen is a long-term solution, right? And friends, we're gonna have to embrace more nuclear. We're gonna have to figure out how we have that as part of the base load solution. Renewables are part of it, but so are base load factors, whether it's natural gas in some parts of the country, or others. So, am I bullish on the country's prospects?

Sal Rabbani
I hope so.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
I am so. Like, we're going to, you're going to see more Team Canada missions. And I hope that you are part of it. And foreign direct investment is real. I mean, we've got Edmonton Global. I mean, if there's a really big project that I hope lands well, it would mean 30 million person-hours of work, and would scrub two megatons of GHG's out of the air, if it lands—as I hope it will—in Alberta.

So, look, some people say, you're eight years in government. And I say, we're just getting started. Because the future is bright—like, I hope you guys have shades in your pocket when you leave here today, because that's how bright the future is.

Sal Rabbani
Excellent. You know, there's quite a few small business owners in the room. And used to be a small business owner.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
I did.

Sal Rabbani
Just for the benefit of the room, here, what would you say to them in today's reality, if you had a one-to-one lunch with them, in terms of planning for the future, navigating forward?

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Keep treating your people well. You are your people. You know that—your best assets go home, at the end of every day. And I know it's hard. But work with us, work with your MPs, to navigate all of the things the federal government has at your disposal. I can tell you, our Canadian Digital Adoption Program, $4 billion; not nearly subscribed enough. You can get 50 percent dollars from us to not just get your services or products online, but to also cyber-proof your business. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Russia, China, Saudi, other state actors are coming after our businesses. They are gonna keep testing and poking, to see where we have weaknesses. And right now, I will make a little bit of a political joke, our small-and medium-sized enterprises are digitally conservative—that's not how you vote. But it means that you don't invest enough in digital protection, or in making sure that your products and services are available. So, that's one thing.

And the other thing I would say is, please, please, please, avoid what was the Canadian business trap, late '90's, early 2000's—I, it's seared into my brain—there was an article that said that the Canadian Dream is the three B's: the beach, the Beamer, and the boat. When you make enough to get all three, you're kind of done. Like, why would I try to move to Québec? Why would I expand to Alberta? Why would I consider going to the United States, the second, or now the largest market in the world? Why would I even consider using the 1.8 billion people that Canada has access to? That's really hard.

Well, guess what, friends? We have it in our DNA. We can do this. And we are seeing more and more unicorns coming out of different parts of the country, because there is this sense that we can compete on the global stage. And CanExport is a phenomenal program—it might be oversubscribed this year, we'll see what happens in terms of the budget—but it's literally 50- to 75-cent dollars from us, for you to take your existing product or service and expand to another market, including the United States. You get more points if you go to a non-US market, because we're trying to, you know, diversify the reliance on the US market. But there are programs in place. The government wants to support you.

And when you do go down that export route, work with the BDC, work with EDC. We can factor your receivables from an overseas provider and make sure that you're protected, and those systems are in place. And if you're ever thinking of going international, start by having a meeting with our International Trade Commissioners. Because once you are in the system with one embassy, with one Trade Commission, you are in the system for all of our missions around the world. And that could be extremely powerful for your small business.

So, my message to you would be, cast out a bold vision, and be ambitious. Because the country needs you to be ambitious. And I can tell you, the newcomers that are arriving every day, they are signing up businesses in a level that is really remarkable. Because they see that as their pathway to a bright future here in Canada.

Sal Rabbani
Thank you. I have time for one more question, and it's related to some of the students in the room here, today.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Sure.

Sal Rabbani
We've got students from TMU, from York University, and the University of Toronto. What piece of advice would you give them?

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Well, look, for the people at TMU, I didn't design the tee-shirt, but when you did the rebranding, I thought there should be tee-shirts, said, "Met You at Met U." So, if you want to take that, it's like, free, guys. Just go make some money; make some new tee-shirts. You are in a unique time. Focus on your skills and your talents, and don't let anybody beat your passion out of you. It's your passion. It's your dream. I am an LGBT francophone balding Liberal from Alberta—okay, I'm totally bald—do you think that I gave up on my dream? When I came out at 28, I had to divorce myself from my past. I thought, I have no family, no friends, forget politics—I'd never have a job, because I grew up in homophobic Alberta. You don't know how the world is going to change and open up to you.

Goethe, who was a great philosopher in Germany, said, "Vision and determination has magic and power in it. And the actual universe moves in your way when you finally commit." So, commit to political science, and commit to the law, and sell some houses, and commit to all that you're doing. Because I talked to the students, and I love what they're doing. And so, do not give up on your dream. In fact, make that a positive. Wake up every day, and remind yourself what your dream is. Because I am living the dream. Somebody says to me, "What do you think of your job, Randy?" I'm like, "I'm living a dream, and I have no intention of waking up anytime soon." And you can do it, too.

Sal Rabbani
Well, thank you. I really appreciated the discussion today—and thanks for clarifying, by the way, Minister of Jobs.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Absolutely.

Sal Rabbani
We appreciated...

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Thank you.

Sal Rabbani
...you being here today. And I look forward to having you back.

The Hon. Randy Boissonault
Thank you. Thanks, everyone.

Sal Rabbani
I'd—thank you very much, Minister—I'd now like to invite Nicole Foster, Director, AWS Global AI/ML and Canada's Public Policy Lead...

Nicole Foster, Director, AWS Global AI/ML & Public Policy Lead, Canada
Longest title ever.

Sal Rabbani
...longest title ever—to deliver appreciation remarks. Thank you very much.

Note of Appreciation by Nicole Foster
Thank you. Thank you. Well, that was a very energetic act to follow. Thank you so much. I have the honour of just thanking the Minister very much for his remarks today, and concluding, giving the concluding remarks. I'm from Amazon Web Services. For those of you who aren't familiar with AWS, it's a Cloud-computing company, and we launched in Canada in 2016, with our first data centre region in Montréal. And by 2037, we will have invested $21 billion in digital infrastructure in Canada, both in our Montréal Region and in our new region that will be launching in Calgary at the end of this year, early next year.

Tens of thousands of Canadian customers run every imaginable digital workload, in every possible industry, on AWS. And many of the applications and services that we use every day do run on AWS. From startups like Neo, to large enterprises like Bank of Montréal and Telus, to public institutions like the Calgary Airport Authority. And we play, also, a huge role in skills investment in Canada. Since 2013, we've helped train over 100,000 individuals in Canada with Cloud skills, and we collaborate with universities and institutions to prepare the workforce of tomorrow, through programs such as AWS restart, AWS Academy, and AWS Educate. These educational programs help learners of all backgrounds and experiences prepare for careers in the Cloud.

One of the programs I'm most excited about is our AWS Restart Program. And it's a free 12-week digital skills training program that prepares unemployed, underemployed, and transitioning individuals for careers in Cloud computing, and it connects graduates to potential employers. The first cohort in Canada was actually launched here in Toronto, through Youth Employment Services, in 2020. And in October 2021, we announced a cohort of Indigenous students with PLATO. It's Canada's only Indigenous-led and Indigenous-staffed IT services and training firm, in collaboration with Bank of Montréal to run this program, and we added a six-month internship with BMO, as well. We've also launched a program, there, at Mount Royal University in Alberta, and have teamed up to deliver our Restart Program with Calgary's EDGE UP 2.0 Program in 2022—and that cohort is specifically targeted at women.

So, we also know that there, there's a large discussion of transition in our economy happening around AI—and I can't go to any event without talking a little bit about AI—and we're extremely excited about the potential of artificial intelligence for Canada, and for the economy, and what it will mean for work. And so, we're also working very hard to ensure that we are democratizing access to AI and machine learning skills, as well, through our Machine Learning University. Which, this is the same training that we offer our in-house company employees, we are making, we are making it open and free for all to also access it.

Now, I can't miss the opportunity to also just—Minister, you mentioned digital adoption. And in addition to the importance of skills and digital, in terms of digital adoption, is also leadership. Leadership is so important. Digital adoption is as much about skills as it is about change management. And since you run the, one of the most extensive departments in the government of Canada that touches on the lives of Canadians most directly, I just want to also encourage you, in your new portfolio, to bring your energy and your leadership to digital adoption in the public service, as well. And I leave you with the quote that Minister Brison had actually said, when he was briefly that the Minister for Digital Government, that, "We cannot be a Blockbuster government serving a Netflix citizenry." So, I strongly encourage you to continue your leadership in the, in the Cloud adoption, or digital adoption, in the government of Canada, as well. Thank you so much for your continued leadership of and service to Canadians. Thank you all.

Concluding Remarks by Sal Rabbani
Thank you, Nicole, and thanks again to all our sponsors for their support, and everyone joining us today in person or online. As a club of record ,All Empire Club of Canada events are available to watch and listen to on demand on our website. A recording of this event will be available shortly, and everyone registered will receive an e-mail with the link.

On Thursday, October 26th, join us in person for our first Empire Night's evening event, "Solving the Housing Crunch, What Actions Can We Take Right Away?" This event will feature a polling presentation by David Coletto, Chair and CEO of Abacus Data, and a panel discussion moderated by the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Vice-Chair, Global Investment Banking, CIBC Capital Markets. Thank you for your participation and support. Please enjoy this time to connect. This meeting is now adjourned.