Supporting Success:

Creating Canada’s First Cognitive Labour Strategy

“Ontario needs to build the skillsets necessary for the knowledge economy.”

“Governments need to help ensure labour supply better matches demand.”

- Emerging Stronger: A Transformative Agenda for Ontario

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WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…

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Forecast for Ontario: A Perfect Storm of CrisesUnsustainable service costs

– Have increased from $17 billion in 1997 to $49 billion in 2011 for healthcare alone, yet peoplearen’t getting better

– $15 billion deficit and shrinking tax base

A Mental Health Crisis largely misunderstood by Private Sector and Civil Society

– Mental illness and addictions cost Ontario economy $39 billion annually; trending to becomenumber one cost driver of disability claims by 2020

– Private sector spends at least $2.1 billion annually on disability claims, drug costs and employeeassistance programs (EAPs)

Private Sector must improve productivity and encourage more innovation to sustain apost-industrial economy

– In 2007, Canada was 17th among OECD nations for output per hour worked per worker– In 2007, Canada’s business sector productivity was 75 per cent of that of the U.S (compared to 90

per cent in the early 1980s)

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In an information-based, innovation-fueled economy, itwill be cognitive labour – not physical labour – thatdoes the heavy lifting.

Cognitive Behaviour [käg-nə-tiv \ bi-ˈhā-vyər]

Work involving the use of cognitive skills such as information acquisition andretention, critical thinking, planning, communication and innovation.

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…MAKE LEMONADE.

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A Provincial Cognitive Labour Strategy would:

• Establish an online toolkit aggregating existing Private and PublicSector best practices and evidence-based solutions for supportingoccupational mental health and productivity enhancement.

• Enable Government to work with partners (including businessassociations, HR professionals, mental health and occupationalmental health service providers) to create evidence-based solutionscombining existing best-practices with new approaches

• By providing incentives, the Government of Ontario will make thecase that it is in the Private Sector’s best interests to internalizecognitive labour supports.

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This Cognitive Labour Strategy would not only address akey objective of Ontario’s Comprehensive Mental Healthand Addictions Strategy:

- Provide Ontario a competitive advantage in the global informationeconomy

- Encourage new industry development (cognitive workplaceassessments, design, etc.)

- Empower employers to become part of the solution to our mentalhealth crisis – helping to keep employees engaged and out of thehealthcare system.

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Potential Partners:• Human Resources Professionals Association• Ontario Chamber of Commerce• Canadian Positive Psychology Association• Optimus SBR• Exhibit Change• Centre for Applied Neuroscience• Schizophrenia Society of Ontario

MPP Advocates:

• Christine Elliot (PC, Whitby-Oshawa)• Kevin Flynn (Liberal, Oakville)• France Gélinas (NDP, Nickel Belt)

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“We will continue looking for additional savings across governmentwhile providing quality public services for Ontario families.

“And we welcome good ideas — from people, business owners,economists and the Opposition — on how to best find thosesavings.

- Dwight Duncan, Ontario Minister of Finance

“We can perhaps shoot for a grander goal – a province thatprovides the best public services, delivered in the mostefficient manner in the world.

If this sounds impossibly ambitious, put the question anotherway: Why not?

- The Drummond Report

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DISCUSSION

Notes

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