Plan includes $2 billion for training and support
The federal budget, to be announced on Jan. 27, will include $2 billion to provide training for workers who have lost their jobs, according to Human Resources Minister Diane Finley.
The budget will allocate $1.5 billion to training for laid-off workers who are eligible for employment insurance as well as those who can't access EI under current rules, Finley announced over the weekend.
Another $500 million will go to retraining experienced, laid-off workers who are too young to retire.
The budget will also include financial support for apprentices in the skilled trades and foreign-trained professionals who need to have their credentials recognized to work in Canada.
The government will also create a new $250-million regional development agency for rural and low-employment communities in Southern Ontario.
The $21-billion stimulus package in the budget, which will see the government run a $64-billion deficit over the next two years, includes:
• $1 billion for mining, farming and forestry communities
• $2 billion for social housing
• $500 million to modernize farms
• $50 million to expand slaughterhouses
• $50 million to promote Canada's forestry sector
• $100 million for better forestry technology
