A review of hirings and dismissals in Canada, in November 2024
Health P.E.I. focused on hiring hundreds of new staff, AGM hears
Health P.E.I.’s annual general meeting highlighted recruitment and retention as top priorities to stabilize healthcare for Islanders. The agency plans to hire hundreds of workers to address staff shortages and improve patient care. Initiatives include reopening the Prince County Hospital ICU, expanding team-based patient medical homes, and addressing pay concerns for nurse practitioners. Attendees also raised issues like long-term care lockdowns affecting residents’ mental health.The province plans to establish 30 additional patient medical homes, requiring the recruitment of 56 physicians and nurse practitioners, along with numerous other healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, practical nurses, medical office assistants, and social workers.
Shercom Industries, a company specializing in used tire recycling in Saskatchewan, announced the layoffs of 79 employees, effective December 2, 2024. These workers were primarily employed in value-added manufacturing, producing items such as gym mats, rubber tiles and speed bumps. This decision is linked to a change in the provincial waste tire management program, now assigned to an American company, Crumb Rubber Manufacturing, which exports the tires out of the province for processing.
Shercom, which once recycled 50 million pounds of tires a year, saw its collection and processing operations shut down, reducing its workforce to around 20 people, mostly executives. These layoffs come on top of similar job cuts in 2023, when tire management in the province was reorganized. The company plans to redefine its business model in the face of the loss of this key contract and the lack of local tire recycling
The National Verification and Collection Center in Shawinigan, Mauricie, recently announced layoffs affecting around sixty employees. Among them, only ten worked on site, the others working remotely. This decision is attributed to a reorganization of operations by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in a context of reducing workload. This situation accentuates already existing union concerns, particularly regarding the stability of employment within the tax center, a recurring issue in recent years. The president of the local union expressed his concern, deeming the situation difficult for the employees concerned. These layoffs come as rumors of cutbacks were already circulating, fueled by internal communications at the CRA. Remaining employees fear further cuts, which reinforces the climate of insecurity at work
Despite these announcements, modernization projects, such as the construction of a new building for the tax center, are underway in Shawinigan, aimed at maintaining the infrastructure and certain activities in the long term
Investissement Québec (IQ) recently announced the layoff of around sixty employees, or approximately 5% of its workforce. This decision comes against a backdrop of budgetary pressures imposed by the Quebec government, which is asking state corporations to reduce their spending in order to contribute to returning to a balanced budget. These cuts come despite a recent period of strong growth in the workforce at IQ, marked by the addition of hundreds of positions in recent years.
According to IQ, the reduction aims to optimize internal operations while maintaining its key role in supporting Quebec businesses and foreign investment. However, this decision raises concerns about the social and organizational impacts for the staff concerned and the future operations of the state-owned company.