The Minister of Labor begins her journey through the Cote Nord

The Minister of Labor begins her journey through the Côte-Nord

Labor Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain began her tour of Quebec’s north coast regions this Monday with the aim of finding solutions to the labor shortage.

The North Shore MNA was in Baie-Comeau to discuss employment issues with the business community. Last year, an average of 4,500 job vacancies were vacant on the North Shore and North du Quebec. By 2030 there will be 1,400,000 in the province, the vast majority due to retirements.

Minister Champagne Jourdain highlighted regional initiatives such as fact-finding missions, which made it possible to recruit around twenty people from outside the region. However, the main focus will be on keeping workers in the labor market in a pensionable state for as long as possible with various incentives.

The north coast is not attractive enough

For its part, the Manicouagan Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes that the region has lagged behind others in terms of attractiveness. According to President Antonio Hortas, several projects have to be worked on at the same time, including the region’s accessibility and its demographic decline.

Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain also used her visit to tour the premises of Groupe de la Côte and its subsidiary Norfil. This adapted company employs several people with disabilities among its hundred employees. Management now intends to reach out to Aboriginal communities to help fill the shortage of seamstresses.

With this Quebec tour, the minister wants to make sure she finds the right tools to curb the job shortage, which experts say won’t go away before 2040.