$1.7 billion to help workers prepare for shifting times

OTTAWA — Canadians could soon be putting $250 a year in federal tax credits toward better skills, while getting federal help to pay the bills.

One of the showpieces in Tuesday’s federal budget, part of more than $1.7 billion in planned new spending over five years, aims to help workers prepare for tectonic digital shifts in Canada’s labour market — although it appears to fall short of what experts have told the government would be needed to help workers chart new career paths.

The proposal would provide a $250 refundable tax credit, accumulating over time, to allow workers to offset the costs of learning new job skills. The plan, to cost $710 million over the next five years, would be available to Canadian workers earning between $10,000 and about $150,000 a year.

The budget document says the credit is expected to launch in late 2020 — a year after this fall’s federal election — and will apply against the cost of programs at eligible universities, colleges and training institutions.

“We will be able to make an enormous difference for people in terms of the worry that they have that they have the skills for tomorrow,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said.

The government also plans to create a new employment-insurance benefit for those who take time off from work to attend a training program, up to a maximum of 55 per cent of earnings. That program carries a price tag of $1.04 billion over five years.

Only those who qualify for employment insurance would be eligible for the four weeks of leave, redeemable within a fouryear period. It would also require the federal government to negotiate labour-law changes with provinces — whose jurisdictions cover approximately 90 per cent of Canadian workers.

The measure means workers have a right to training while employed, not just after losing jobs, but several details still need to be worked out, said the Canadian Labour Congress.