Solving the Region's Workforce Problem

Stéphane Sarrazin, the provincial deputy of Glengarry and Prescott-Russell, discusses investments made to tackle some of the region's biggest issues, such as the labour shortage and the rapidly changing world of agriculture. 

Jade Laviolette - Local Journalism Initiative

Stéphane Sarrazin takes the time to answer our questions, highlighting two major investments made in July: a 7.2 million dollar investment put into research projects aimed at helping strengthen our farmers and a 260 million dollar investment towards overcoming the labour shortage in skilled trades.

Investments in our community

In July, Stéphane Sarrazin announced two key investments aimed at addressing major regional challenges. The first is a 7.2 million dollar investment placed towards 44 research projects to help farmers and agribusinesses compete by providing them with funding for certain things like advanced technology in hopes of leveling the playing field between smaller farms and larger agribusinesses: “It’s hard to find other people to work on the farms, so thinking about investing into innovation can contribute a lot to the success of the farmers.” M. Sarrazin tells us.

In a separate effort, 260 million dollars will be invested to tackle the ongoing labour shortage in the construction sector. This shortage has led to delays in multiple projects and has increased costs for specialized services. This funding is intended to reduce the lack of workers by training new ones and working directly with construction businesses M. Sarrazin tells us, stating: “We’re working with businesses, construction companies and different organizations like the employment centers, to be able to train people to do construction work in a few sectors.”