Objects
4.(1)OTAB has the following objects: 1. To promote, support, fund, co-ordinate, design, provide and evaluate labour force development programs and services for the private and public sectors. 2. To carry out research and development with respect to all aspects of labour force development. 3. To develop a labour market information base. 4. To advise the Government of Ontario on all aspects of labour force development, including its funding. 5. To seek to ensure that publicly funded labour force development programs and services, in the context of the competitive Canadian and global economies and in the context of a fair and just society, lead to the enhancement of skill levels, productivity, quality, innovation and timeliness and the improvement of the lives of workers and potential workers. 6. To participate in the development and promotion of common standards in occupational training, so as to enhance labour force mobility by making skills more portable. 7. To establish links with the Canadian Labour Force Development Board and with provincial, local and other labour force development organizations so as to develop co-operative working relationships and shared initiatives in labour force development. 8. To establish links among labour force development programs and services, the educational system and social programs and services intended to promote preparedness for employment, training and life-long learning. 9. To seek to ensure access and equity in labour force development programs and services, so as to lead to the full participation of workers and potential workers in the labour force. 10. To identify and seek to eliminate systemic and other discriminatory barriers to the full and effective participation of disadvantaged and under-represented groups in labour force development programs and services. 11. To seek to ensure that the special needs of people with disabilities are accommodated in labour force development programs and services. 12. To seek to ensure that labour force development programs and services are designed, delivered and evaluated in light of the needs and priorities of all Ontario’s employers, workers and potential workers. 13. To seek to ensure that labour force development programs and services are of high quality and achieve the best results and the best returns on investment, through the use of a variety of methods that are fully and effectively evaluated in all respects, including cost-effectiveness. 14. To promote appropriate and sustainable levels of investment in labour force development. 15. To make effective use of Ontario’s diverse educational and training resources. 16. To seek to ensure, within the scope of OTAB’s operations, the strength of Ontario’s publicly funded education systems. 17. To promote, in labour force development programs and services, Ontario’s linguistic duality, and to take into account the training needs of Ontario’s francophone community. 18. To recognize and support, in labour force development programs and services, the diversity and pluralism of Ontario’s population. Criteria (2)In carrying out its objects, OTAB shall, (a) operate in a manner that is consistent with the economic and social policies, including labour market policies, of the Government of Ontario; (b) operate within a framework of accountability to the Government of Ontario; (c) distribute funding of labour force development programs and services to all the regions of Ontario in a fair and appropriate manner; and (d) operate in a manner that develops a functioning partnership that brings together all points of view with respect to labour force development programs and services. 1993, c. 9, s. 4.