1. BC’s LMDA Agreement Delivery of the LMDA Agreement in British Columbia Norma Strachan, CEO IAVEG Conference June 2014

2. BC:1996- 2008 Co-Management Agreement -resulted in a myriad of programs in every community 6 different federal programs 4 different provincial programs -confusing for clients to determine eligibility

3. 2007- 2009 March 2007 – LMDA Announced BC initially refused to engage in dialogue with service providers to discuss LMDA implementation, so ASPECT invited governments & NGO’s from: Alberta Ontario Quebec

4. 2008-2011 Provincially led consultations for input to program design, resulting in The Employment Program of BC -Forced partnerships of service providers within communities -Reduced 10 separate employment models to 1 with a “menu of services” -reduced number of total contracts from 400 contracts to 73 -Resulted in a single point of access for clients -Managed by a complex Integrated Case Management database system.

5. 2012-2014 Difficult Implementation Forced partnerships of employment agencies Integrated Case Management System Performance-based payments system…delayed Inconsistent services for specialized populations (immigrants, youth, women fleeing abuse, persons with disabilities

6. Partnerships & Networks Post devolution: National organizations, networking and commonalities diminished; Focus became provincial; coping with changes and new models; Few opportunities for sharing issues, solutions best practices.

7. Unique to BC While the LMDA is managed by the Ministry of Social Development, The LMA is managed by the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training

8. Federal Impacts -Limited capacity of the federal government to manage contracts; -Increasing need for recognition for contributions to employment services; -Threatening a change in direction of devolution Because they can……..

9. Pro’s of Devolution Provinces are more responsive, develop more appropriate labour market interventions specific to regional needs; Greater ability to dialogue, discuss, provide input about workforce development requirements;

10. Con’s of Devolution -reduction in national networking opportunities -lack of a federal framework, vision -no coordinated approach for labour market mobility across provinces; -subject to the whim of the federal government.

11. A Critical Role for the Federal Government would be: - Develop national and international policies that promote workforce development; -Develop an employment strategy for all Canadians; -Collaborate with the provinces to achieve mutual goals -Develop accountability measures for the provinces And MONITOR outcomes