Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), known in French as Emploi et Développement social Canada, is a department of the Government of Canada responsible for administering social and labour market programmes at the federal level.

ESDC delivers a number of important programmes and services, including Employment Insurance (EI), the Service Canada centres, the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP), the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the issuing ofSocial Insurance Numbers (SIN), and the federal labour programme, among many other activities.

ESDC is also a member of the Inter-American Conference on Social Security, a specialist international organisation devoted to advancing social protection and social security across the Americas.

An overview of ESDC

• Established: 2005
• Type: A department of the Government of Canada
• Jurisdiction: Government of Canada
• Number of employees: 45,000
• Ministers:
  • Steven MacKinnon (Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour)
  • Jenna Sudds (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development)
  • Joanna Thompson (Minister of Seniors),
  • Terry Beech (Minister of Citizens’ Services),
  • Kamal Khera (Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities),
  • Marci Ien (Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth).
• Deputy Minister of ESDC: Paul Thompson
• Operating principally under theDepartment of Employment and Social Development Act (S.C. 2005, c. 34).
• Official website: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development.html

The history of ESDC

Background

The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development was created in December 2003, when Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) was split into 2 separate departments: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Social Development Canada (SDC).

While the two continued to share many common services and operations, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada focused on the workforce-related aspects of the former HRDC portfolio, while SDC focused on social support programmes for children, families and seniors.

The split was formalised in legislation when the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act and the Department of Social Development Act came into force in July 2005.

Reunification

On taking office in February 2006, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government announced that it would merge the 2 departments once more, and through a series of orders in council, Social Development Canada was folded into HRSDC.

From 2006 to 2008, the former role of Social Development Canada was reflected by styling the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development as the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, and by changing the department’s applied title to Human Resources and Social Development Canada. This arrangement ended in late 2008 when the title reverted to Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. The position was later styled Minister of Employment and Social Development when the department was renamed.

On 4 November 2015, the department underwent changes as part of a government reorganisation, with responsibility for employment transferred to the Minister of Labour, producing the new title of Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. The social development functions were subsequently shaped into the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development portfolio. The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion is currently tasked with handling the disability file.

The organisational structure of ESDC

• Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour – Steven MacKinnon
  • Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development – Paul Thompson
  • Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development – Kristina Namiesniowski
  • Head of Benefits Delivery Modernisation – John Ostrander
• Minister of Citizens’ Services – Terry Beech
  • Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer of Service Canada – Cliff Groen
• Minister of Seniors – Joanne Thompson
  • Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development – Sandra Hassan
• Minister of Families, Children and Social Development – Jenna Sudds
• Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities – Kamal Khera
• Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth – Marci Ien

Controversies concerning ESDC

The 2012/2013 privacy breach

On 11 January 2013, Minister Diane Finley announced that a hard drive containing the details of 583,000 student borrowers under the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP)/HRSDC had been lost in Gatineau, Quebec.

Borrowers from 2000-2006 may have been affected. The hard drive contained full names, social insurance numbers, contact details, loan balances and the details of 250 HRSDC employees. Concerns about the privacy breach and identity theft led to 3 class actions against the federal government.

On 18 January 2013, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada opened an investigation aimed at improving privacy protection. The RCMP was notified but awaited the outcome of the Privacy Commissioner’s investigation before opening its own. The incident was dubbed “1 in 60”, based on the ratio of those affected to Canada’s population.

The Canada Summer Jobs programme

In 2018, Justin Trudeau’s government introduced a new mandatory criterion for Canada Summer Jobs, requiring organisations and projects to respect human rights in Canada, including the values of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as other rights such as “reproductive rights and the right to be free from discrimination”.

Following 9 Federal Court challenges and complaints from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, the requirement was rewritten, becoming a mandatory point that the project and job activities must not “actively work to undermine or restrict a woman’s access to sexual and reproductive health services”.

The role of ESDC in Canadian immigration

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) plays an important role in Canada’s immigration system, particularly in relation to the labour market.

ESDC is responsible for administering theThe Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)process, a mandatory requirement in certain immigration programmes for highly skilled workers andTemporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The purpose of the LMIA is to allow ESDC to determine whether hiring a foreign worker would have a neutral, positive or negative effect on Canadian workers.

ESDC assesses factors such as whether hiring the foreign worker creates or retains jobs for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, whether it transfers skills and knowledge to Canadians, and whether it addresses a labour shortage.

If the LMIA is approved (positive or neutral), the foreign worker may apply for temporary or permanent residence throughImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). In this way, ESDC ensures that immigration supports the Canadian economy without harming domestic workers.