17 April 2020 – Portal aims to connect unemployed workers to jobs in agri-food sector

Type of Intervention: Financial and Economic, Specific Action
Sectors Involved: Finance/Economy, Supply Chains, Agriculture and Food
Intervention Categories: Finance policy and financial aid; Stimulus packages and financial support
Level of Jurisdiction: Ontario
Lead People/Agency: Decision-makers: Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (Marie-Claude Bibeau), Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (Ernie Hardeman)
Implementers: Canadian Agricultural Partnership

Overview: The federal and provincial governments are investing up to $1 million in funding to connect workers with jobs in the agri-food sector in order to keep Canada’s supply chains strong during the pandemic. This funding aims to ensure that Canadians can continue to have access to high-quality food. This follows Ontario’s implementation of a new online portal (April 4, 2020) that helps connect workers with jobs in the agri-food sector.
Full details here: https://news.ontario.ca/omafra/en/2020/04/canada-and-ontario-supporting-agri-food-sector-supply-chain-during-covid-19.html

Other links: 1
Type of Justification: Advice of INTERNAL government advisory committee or group
Source of Evidence or Justification: National – government, Sub-national, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Evidence/Justification: The federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food discussed the “strong need” for workers in food processing and farming, given the current situation. The justification for this policy is to support supply chains in Ontario and Canada as a whole to ensure the nation is prepared to continue to supply high-quality food to citizens.