G7 seeks plan to calm workers
The Canadian ministers hosting a group of G7 counterparts in Montreal have begun crafting crossborder policies that would help and reassure workers caught in the churn of a dramatically evolving labour market.
The most recent estimates provided at the two-day meeting that started Tuesday suggest that up to 15 per cent of jobs in the G7 could disappear because of automation over the next two decades.
Automation is expected to generate demand for both highskilled and low-skilled occupations, resulting in “a hollowing of the middle” marked by declines in jobs requiring a mid-range level of skill, according to details the OECD provided to officials in attendance.
Despite high government talk of automation, artificial intelligence and innovation, not everyone has — or will — feel the benefit of the technological changes, said Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains. He said governments want to find ways to clearly demonstrate how “innovation” spending can help the majority of citizens, such as how digital infrastructure advances could help rural and remote communities.
A senior European Union official echoed Bains’ words, suggesting the G7 needed to encourage use of artificial intelligence to improve daily lives while affirming the importance of privacy and accountability to maintain trust with workers. Britain’s envoy to Canada highlighted her country’s contribution to the talks in a report focusing on the need to use “genuine innovation” to solve “real-world issues.”
“This G7 isn’t about economic growth, it’s also about equality,” Bains said in an interview ahead of the Montreal meeting.
“That’s really what innovation is about. We sometimes get really focused on technology and gadgets. I think it’s really important to realize the benefits of innovation.”
The Liberals have looked to calm domestic nerves through spending on skills training programs to ensure the programs are “available at any stage or age” so displaced workers can land new jobs, said Labour Minister Patty Hajdu, who is cohosting the meeting with Bains. But the programs are “not going to be for everyone,” she said, such as older workers nearing retirement age, a growing cohort in this country.
Canada has one of the youngest populations in the G7.