OTTAWA - The federal government has at last struck a deal on the Canada Job Grant with all the provinces and territories except Quebec, Employment Minister Jason Kenney said Friday.
The national job training program was the crown jewel of the 2013 federal budget, but had been bogged down by months of haggling.
Almost all the provinces and territories said earlier this week they supported Kenney's latest offer and the premiers reached an agreement in principle during a conference call on Thursday.
Quebec balks at the idea of the federal government treading on what is seen as an area of provincial jurisdiction.
Concerns remain that the deal still represents a cut in funding to the provinces and territories.
Each one will still have to work out the details with the federal Conservatives, a source told The Canadian Press.
Originally, the plan was to provide $15,000 for each eligible worker, with the cost divided equally between Ottawa, the provinces and employers.
But the provinces and territories refused, saying Ottawa would claw back federal cash for successful job-training programs run by the provinces, while forcing them to find millions more to cover their portion of the grant.
The deal came after Kenney produced a final counter-proposal offering the provinces and territories full flexibility in how they contribute to the job grant.
That means, essentially, that the provinces and territories can commit $300 million to the job grant from whatever federal funds they choose — or from their own coffers.
Ottawa, meantime, will continue to transfer $2.1 billion a year in training-related funds to the provinces.