Ricardo Chejfec MPP '21 and Abigail Jackson MPP '23 on Why Canada’s Nation-Building Projects Need a Skills Revolution | Policy Options

Abigail Jackson, MPP '23, and Ricardo Chejfec, MPP '21, along with Rachel Samson, co-wrote an article in Policy Options arguing that Canada’s push to accelerate major infrastructure and energy projects must be matched by an ambitious strategy to build the local skills needed to support them. They stress that without early investment in training and better coordination among employers, governments, and educators, many rural and remote communities could be excluded from the benefits of these nation-building efforts. Drawing on research from the IRPP’s Community Transformations Project, they call for flexible funding, strengthened local organizations, and partnerships that begin before shovels hit the ground.