Canada Pledges $50 Million to Mitigate Job Losses due to AI

Canada’s government is as worried about job losses from AI as are Canadians. Canada’s federal government has announced to allocate $50 million for workers’ training, as one of the key points of the federal budget was to invest $2.3 billion for AI adoption and for Canada’s artificial intelligence sector. The budget was announced on Tuesday, but the pledge for AI was announced at the start of the month on April 7.

$50 million to offset job losses

Along with the huge investment to support the country’s AI sector, the government also promised to allocate $50 million to support workers whose jobs may get affected by AI. The investment was meant to be made over a four year period. The Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program will provide training in new skills to the workers of the sectors that may get potentially be destabilized. 

The University of Waterloo’s economics professor, Joel Blit, said,

“There is a significant transformation of the economy and society on the horizon around artificial intelligence.”

Mentioning the loss of jobs in some sectors and the creation of them in others, Bilt said,

“But there’s going to be a transition period that could be somewhat chaotic.”

Source: Cfjctoday.

Back in June 2023, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also raised her concerns and said in a briefing note that up to 40% of working hours could be at risk, and the fallout will be seen throughout industries. Energy, banking, and insurance seem to be comparatively more riskier than others because of their potential for automation.

Experts show concern for some sectors

Skill requirements and job conditions could definitely get impacted by the above scenario. The music, TV, and film industries of Canada said that their jobs and reputations are at threat and asked MPs for security against AI. And the point of concern is that the budget only mentions creative industries as being an affected sector, and that will be covered by the skill training program.

Caroline Thériault, deputy finance representative, while mentioning this issue, said,

“The creative industries was used as an illustrative example and not intended as an exclusion of other affected areas.”

Source: Cfjctoday.

According to the Canadian Labour Congress’s president, Bea Bruske, union bodies of actors and directors are concerned about the possibility that their work and resemblances may be used by AI systems. But she mentioned that it is essential to look for effects in all jobs. White-collar workers like people working in law, marketing, healthcare, and accounting are also expected to be among the affected ones.

The technology is going to change the processes and entire industries, so it is quite hard to guess who is going to be affected in the long run. According to experts, this is a first step in the right direction but is not close enough when compared to the scale of changes coming ahead with the huge investment meant to be made for AI adoption.