Message from the Chair

I am honoured to have been chosen as chair of the Advisory Panel on Labour Market Information. I have long been a believer that the fate of our economy and, in particular, the standard of living of all Canadians depends critically on the efficient functioning of our labour markets.

Canadas prosperity will increasingly be determined by the effectiveness of our labour markets in allocating labour to the areas of greatest needs and in providing opportunities to all Canadians wanting to work. Even though Canada has been truly blessed with a vast richness of commodities, we cannot even produce those profitably without the right kinds of skilled labour. And skilled labour is the life-blood of the knowledge economy.

The only constant in modern economies is change. Sectoral, regional and skill requirement shifts occur now with blinding speed. Economies can only perform well if they keep up and adapt. That requires accurate and timely information. And not just a confusing array of computerized databases containing unprocessed data. To really improve the functioning of labour markets, the data have to be readily accessible and appropriately interpreted.

We are counting on you to help us determine what needs to be done to build the best system of Labour Market Information for Canada. It must be a system that contains all the information needed for the efficient functioning of Canadian labour markets as will be required to succeed in the competitive 21st century global economy. This consultation document provides some background. But most of all, we want to hear your views on the Canadian Labour Market Information system. Once we have completed our consultations and have had an opportunity to benefit from your input, we look forward to making recommendations that will make a real difference to Canadians and to our economy.

Don Drummond,