Winnipeg, MB — “If you don’t include everyone, you’re not getting the best,” shared Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s minister of labour, on June 11 as part of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum’s 2023 Supporting Women in Trades Conference in Winnipeg, Man. The conference was first created in 2018, with this year welcoming more than 325 delegates from across Canada.
During the biennial conference, which ran from June 10-12, France Daviault, CEO of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, shared with the delegates that the conference’s mandate will be expanding to include more people in the community built by and for women in the trades.
“Differently abled, gender diverse and 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, Indigenous and racialized people who work in the skilled trades, will benefit from a collective voice. I believe that women in the skilled trades can now lend a hand up and create an inclusive community and network for all those who deserve equitable opportunities and better treatment,” said Daviault.
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum will host its first Support Equity in the Trades Conference starting in 2025 on May 24-26 in Toronto, Ont.