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Ontario and Nova Scotia reach agreement on improving interprovincial mobility for skilled tradespeople

HALIFAX — The governments of Ontario and Nova Scotia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve interprovincial mobility for skilled tradespeople, including post-journeyperson certification.

Ontario is seeking new ways to improve the labour supply and create the opportunity for qualified skilled tradespeople to become certified in Ontario and address labour shortages. At the same time, Nova Scotia aims to create a competitive workforce by opening up pathways into trades for more apprentices and removing barriers for credential recognition to meet labour market demands. The MOU will be reviewed in 18 months.

The agreement builds on the MOU Ontario signed with Alberta in July to collaborate on growing the skilled trades and remove barriers for the flow of labour between these two jurisdictions, complementing ongoing work to harmonize Red Seal trades nationally. Ontario is also working with the governments of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador to exchange ideas on removing the interprovincial barriers in the skilled trades.

“Nova Scotia is a growing province and we need even more skilled trade workers to build our homes and hospitals infrastructure and provide services to Nova Scotians,” said Jill Balser, Nova Scotia Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration. “We are making bold decisions to make it easier to fairly assess qualified professionals and improve labour supply.”