Human Resources Development Canada
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Human Resources Development Canada (Template:Langx, HRDC) was a department of the Government of Canada with the responsibility over a wide portfolio of social services.
HRDC was based at a government office facility at Place du Portage IV in Gatineau (formerly downtown Hull, Quebec).
HistoryEdit
HRDC was created in 1993 by Prime Minister Kim Campbell's government in an attempt to decrease the size of the federal cabinet by grouping several departments with similar responsibilities. In the case of HRDC, the former Department of Employment and Immigration formed its nucleus.
HRDC's creation was probably the most enduring decision taken by Campbell's short-lived administration. The new department, however was poorly focused and had a wide range of institutional cultures from the merged bureaucracies; it also had one of the larger departmental budgets and a variety of responsibilities ranging from the unemployment insurance program to the issuance of social insurance numbers and job training and counselling.
Although HRDC was operationally functional since 1993, the Department of Human Resources Development Act was not adopted until 29 May 1996 <ref>An Act to establish the Department of Human Resources Development and to amend and repeal certain related Acts, S.C. 1996, chap. 11.</ref> and officially entered into force on 12 July 1996 when it received Royal Assent and was published in the Canada Gazette.<ref>Extract from the Canada Gazette, Part III, vol. 19, n. 1 (Appendix) published on 12 July 1996, pages 381 and following.</ref>
Department of Employment and ImmigrationEdit
The Department of Employment and Immigration, in operation from 1977 to 1996, was the department that preceded HRDC and succeeded the Department of Manpower and Immigration.
The department was abolished on 12 July 1996. The role previously held by the Minister of Employment and Immigration in regard to labour was taken on by the Minister of Human Resources Development, while the portfolio for immigration was transferred to the office of Minister of Citizenship and Immigration following the reorganization of the government and formation of the department for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.<ref name=":0">"Employment and Immigration (1977-08-15 - 1996-07-11)." ParlInfo. Ottawa: Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2020 October 30.</ref><ref name=":1">"Order Transferring to the Department of Employment and Immigration...and Transferring to the Minister of Employment and Immigration...and Combining the Department of Employment and Immigration and the Department of Labour Under the Minister of Employment and Immigration."</ref><ref name=":2">"Canada. Employment and Immigration Canada (Department)." Library of Congress.</ref>
Dissolution (2003)Edit
HRDC was dissolved in a December 2003 government reorganization which saw two departments, the Department of Social Development and the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development created in its place. The two departments were re-amalgamated on February 6, 2006, though now named Employment and Social Development Canada.
MinistersEdit
The Minister of Human Resources Development was the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing HRDC. Prior to 1996, the post was known as Minister of Employment and Immigration. In 2003, the portfolio was divided to create the posts of Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister of Social Development.
| No. | Name | Term of office | Ministry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Doug Young | July 12, 1996 | October 3, 1996 | under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien |
| 2. | Pierre Pettigrew | October 4, 1996 | August 2, 1999 | |
| 3. | Jane Stewart | August 3, 1999 | December 11, 2003 | |
Minister of Employment and ImmigrationEdit
Template:Infobox official postThe Minister of Employment and Immigration was an office in the Cabinet of Canada, in operation from 1977 to 1996, and was first held by Bud Cullen, who continued from his preceding role as the Minister of Manpower and Immigration.
On 12 July 1996, the office of the Minister of Employment and Immigration was abolished and replaced with the office of Minister of Human Resources Development. The portfolio for immigration was transferred to the office of Minister of Citizenship and Immigration following the reorganization of the government and formation of the department for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
| No. | Name | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |1 | Bud Cullen | August 15, 1977 | June 3, 1979 | Liberal | 20 (P. E. Trudeau) |
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |2 | Ron Atkey | June 4, 1979 | March 2, 1980 | Progressive Conservative | 21 (Clark) |
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |3 | Lloyd Axworthy | March 3, 1980 | August 11, 1983 | Liberal | 22 (P. E. Trudeau) |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |4 | John Roberts | August 12, 1983 | June 29, 1984 | ||
| June 30, 1984 | September 16, 1984 | 23 (Turner) | |||
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |5 | Flora MacDonald | September 17, 1984 | June 29, 1986 | Progressive Conservative | 24 (Mulroney) |
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |6 | Benoît Bouchard | June 30, 1986 | March 30, 1988 | ||
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |7 | Barbara McDougall | March 31, 1988 | April 20, 1991 | ||
| rowspan="2" scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |8 | Bernard Valcourt | April 21, 1991 | June 24, 1993 | ||
| June 25, 1993 | November 3, 1993 | 25 (Campbell) | |||
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |– | Lloyd Axworthy (second time) | November 4, 1993 | January 24, 1996 | Liberal | 26 (Chrétien) |
| scope="row" style="background:Template:Canadian party colour; color:white" |9 | Douglas Young | January 25, 1996 | July 11, 1996 | ||
| Key:Template:LegendTemplate:Legend | |||||
ControversiesEdit
In the late 1990s, HRDC gained public headlines across Canada following numerous poorly thought procurements, notably dozens of server computers using the Unix operating system, this despite the fact that the purchase far exceeded the department's computing requirements. Other problems relating to several incompatible email systems made HRDC a scapegoat for attacks on the government by opposition parties.
In 2000, HRDC's poor accounting practices were made infamous by the Canadian Alliance when it was claimed that approximately $1 billion (CAD) in employment grants could not be accounted for. Peter Donolo later claimed that this scandal was "phony" and the true amount unaccounted for was $85,000.