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Human Resources Development Canada

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Human Resources Development Canada ( French : Développement des ressources humaines Canada , HRDC ) was a department of the Government of Canada with the responsibility over a wide portfolio of social services.

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38-483: HRDC was based at a government office facility at Place du Portage IV in Gatineau (formerly downtown Hull, Quebec ). 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

76-514: A result of the continued prohibition in neighbouring Ontario. Most of Hull's bars were conveniently located near the Alexandra Bridge to Ottawa, which a local newspaper called, "the bridge of the thousand thirsts". Hull's Chief of Police stated in 1924 that the cause of Hull's lawlessness was its proximity to Ottawa, and a report published in 1925 found that visitors to Hull accounted for up to 90 percent of its bar patrons, as well as

114-481: 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. Place du Portage Place du Portage

152-634: A sharp increase in arrests for drunk and disorderly conduct was noted in Hull in 1917. As a result, in May 1918, Hull enacted local laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol. This led to a dramatic increase in bootlegging in Hull, and the town gained the nickname le Petit Chicago , because its per capita crime rates were similar to those in Chicago. In 1919, a local plebiscite repealed Hull's prohibition laws, causing Hull's drinking establishments to once again thrive as

190-489: A shuttle service from Ottawa. By 1985, Hull had the highest crime rate in Quebec, with offences in the bar district including murder, drug dealing, rowdiness, violence, noise, vandalism and drunkenness. The Canadian Museum of History relocated nearby in 1989, and politicians in Hull expressed concern about the city's image. Official committees in Hull weighed the job creation and profitability of Hull's nightlife, against

228-532: A total area of 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft). Place du Portage III consists of 6 connected towers of different heights, spanning both sides of Boulevard Maisonneuve, with an approximate gross surface area of 247,000 square metres (2,660,000 sq ft). The tallest section is 18 floors above grade with another 5 below-grade levels. It was completed in 1978. Place du Portage III accommodates approximately 4,500 office workers, mostly Public Services and Procurement Canada staff. In 2000, Phase III

266-520: Is Place du Centre, a retail and office complex with a 28,600 m (308,000 sq ft) shopping mall on the lower floors and nine floors of office space, for a total area of 43,000 square metres (460,000 sq ft). Although it houses the Federal Government's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) on floors 4 through 12, it is commercially owned and operated, and not part of Place du Portage. Place du Portage I

304-607: Is a large office complex in the Hull sector of Gatineau , Quebec , Canada, situated along Boulevard Maisonneuve and facing the Ottawa River . It is owned and occupied by the Federal Government of Canada . Place du Portage consists of four phases which were built in different stages during the 1970s and early 80s. The office complex was built in order to revitalize Hull's decaying downtown core and also to increase

342-401: Is adjacent to Portage I and was completed in 1975. Including underground parking, shopping, mezzanine , and mechanical levels, there are altogether 18 levels, 10 of which are office floors , with an approximate gross surface area of 24,000 square metres (260,000 sq ft). Place du Portage II accommodates approximately 800 office workers. Additionally, the two-level commercial area has

380-540: Is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau , Quebec , Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River , directly opposite Ottawa . As part of Canada's National Capital Region , it contains offices for more than 20,000 civil servants. It was named after Kingston upon Hull in England. Hull is a former municipality in

418-580: Is the second tallest office tower in Hull, after Terrasses de la Chaudière . It has 25 floors, is 101 metres (331 ft) high, and completed in 1973, with an approximate gross surface area of 38,000 square metres (410,000 sq ft). Place du Portage I accommodates approximately 1,200 office workers, between the Canadian Intellectual Property Office , and the Competition Bureau . Place du Portage II

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456-500: The Conscription Crisis of 1944 the prison eventually included Canadians who had refused conscription . Also, prisoners were forced into hard labour which included farming the land and lumbering . The Macdonald-Cartier Bridge was constructed in 1965, pushing many of Hull's bars to streets north. A large office complex known as Place du Portage began construction in the 1970s, uprooting many businesses along what

494-760: The 1940s found that gambling houses and illegal bars in Hull were receiving protection from corrupt local politicians, who also encouraged police not to arrest prostitutes. During World War II, Hull, along with various other regions within Canada, such as the Saguenay , Lac Saint-Jean , and Île Sainte-Hélène , had Prisoner-of-war camps . Hull's prison was simply labelled with a number and remained unnamed just like Canada's other war prisons. The prisoners of war ( POWs ) were sorted and classified into categories by nationality and civilian or military status. In this camp, POWs were mostly Italian and German nationals. During

532-592: 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 . The Minister of Employment and Immigration was an office in the Cabinet of Canada , in operation from 1977 to 1996, and

570-841: The Ottawa River is still difficult as watercraft must be removed from the Ottawa River due to obstacles posed by rapids such as the Rapides des Chaudières or "Kettle Rapids". Prior to amalgamation in 2002, Hull's population was 66,246 (2001 Census of Canada). According to the Canada 2011 Census , Hull had a population of 69,004. Approximately 80% of residents speak French as their first language and about 9% English as their first language (2001 Census of Canada). Commission Scolaire des Portages-de-l'Outaouais (CSPO) operates Francophone public schools. Western Québec School Board operates Anglophone public schools. Hull now depends primarily on

608-459: The Ottawa. Wright brought his family, five other families and twenty-five labourers and a plan to establish an agriculturally based community in what was a mosquito-infested wilderness. Soon after, Wright and his family took advantage of the large lumber stands and became involved in the timber trade . Originally the place was named Wright's Town, Lower Canada , and the name Wrightville survives as

646-685: The Province of Quebec and the location of the oldest non-Indigenous settlement in the National Capital Region. Prior to European settlement, various Anishinaabe peoples including the Algonquins inhabited the area. It was founded on the north shore of the Ottawa River in 1800 by Philemon Wright at the portage around the Chaudière Falls just upstream (or west) from where the Gatineau and Rideau Rivers flow into

684-457: The area that was once the town's main commercial area. The whole complex (Place du Portage I, II, III, IV and Place d'Accueil) accommodates approximately 10,000 office workers. That makes Place du Portage the biggest office complex in the National Capital Region. Pedestrian bridges to city hall, which in turn has a pedestrian bridge to a hotel, makes this the center of a mini-" underground city ". Connected to and situated between Phase II and III

722-638: The back of the Canadian one-dollar bill until it was replaced by a dollar coin (the " loonie ") in 1987, and the last of the dwindling activity of the draveurs on these rivers ended a few years later. Ottawa was founded later, as the terminus of the Rideau Canal , built under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John By as part of fortifications and defences constructed after the War of 1812 . Originally named Bytown , Ottawa did not become Canada's capital until

760-434: The civil service as an economic mainstay. A number of federal and provincial government departments are located here. The policy of the federal government to distribute federal jobs on both sides of the Ottawa River led to the construction of several massive office towers to house federal civil servants in the 1970s and 80s; the largest of these are Place du Portage and Terrasses de la Chaudière , occupying part of what had been

798-528: The costs of policing and cleanup. A "zero tolerance" campaign began in 1990, which involved undercover policing, the revocation of liquor licences, and a public awareness campaign to inform young drinkers in Ontario that disorderly behaviour would not be tolerated in Hull. Soon, police in Hull were aggressively towing illegally parked cars, and individuals caught urinating in public were fined as much as $ 400. By 2000, Hull had spent considerable resources making

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836-414: The downtown more attractive, and the decaying old core of Hull was transformed by demolition and replacement with a series of large office complexes. Most of the bars on the Hull strip were gone, and were replaced by restaurants, cafés and stores. The city also provided funds to businesses that wanted to renovate. This resulted in a 75 percent drop in crime in the former bar district from 1994 to 2000, and

874-486: The government and formation of the department for Citizenship and Immigration Canada . 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

912-495: The main street "was no longer attracting large crowds looking for a fight". Prostitution was not affected. Mayor Yves Ducharme expressed a desire to attract residents back to downtown Hull, and encouraged the construction of studio and bachelor apartments on Promenade du Portage, across from the federal government buildings. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney wrote of Hull: The town [Ottawa] visibly sagged by ten at night, just in time for residents seeking relief from

950-532: The mid-19th century after the original Parliament Building in Montreal was torched by a rioting mob of English-speaking citizens on April 25, 1849. Its greater distance from the Canada–US border also left the new Parliament Buildings in Ottawa less vulnerable to foreign attack. Nothing remains of the original 1800 settlement; the downtown Vieux-Hull sector was razed by a destructive fire in 1900 which also destroyed

988-535: The name of a neighbourhood in Gatineau's Hull district. The Gatineau River, like the Ottawa River, was very much the preserve of the draveurs , people who would use the river to transport logs from lumber camps to mills downriver. (The Gatineau River flows south into the Ottawa River which flows east to the St Lawrence River near Montreal .) The log-filled Ottawa River, as viewed from Hull, appeared on

1026-523: The original pont des Chaudières ( Chaudière Bridge ), a road bridge which has since been rebuilt to join Ottawa to Hull at Victoria Island . Hull was noted for its nightlife during the years 1917 to 2000. Prohibition on the sale of alcohol in Ontario began in 1916, and continued until the repeal of the Ontario Temperance Act in 1927. Hull's proximity to Ontario made it a convenient place for people from Ottawa to consume alcohol, and

1064-482: The proportion of the federal workforce in the overall National Capital Region . Although the installation of thousands of jobs in the Hull and Gatineau area has resulted in significant economic benefits to local businesses and the real estate market, some people feel that the complex has transformed downtown Hull in some negative ways. Much of the old downtown core was replaced with a series of massive towers and approximately 4,000 residents and businesses were displaced in

1102-473: The stifling boredom to cross the bridge to Hull, Quebec, where nightclubs, dancehalls, bars, and a few great restaurants provided sanctuary and stimulation. In 2002, the Parti Québécois , leading the provincial government, merged the cities of Hull, Gatineau , Aylmer , Buckingham and Masson-Angers into one city. Although Hull was the oldest and most central of the merged cities, the name Gatineau

1140-453: The vast majority of those arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct. A newspaper in the 1920s stated, "these taverns, which are Hull's sole attraction, are not bar rooms, but barn-like, dim rooms in old buildings". During the early 1940s—when bars in Ontario closed at 1 am and bars in Quebec closed at 3 am—residents of Ontario continued to take advantage of Quebec's more liberal policies on alcohol control. An official inquiry in

1178-477: 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 . HRDC

Human Resources Development Canada - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-513: 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 . The Minister of Human Resources Development was the Minister of

1254-414: 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

1292-830: Was named by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada as one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during the last millennium. Place du Portage IV is the latest phase, completed in 1979. Including underground parking, shopping, mezzanine, and mechanical levels, there are altogether 20 levels in a step-up design, with an approximate gross surface area of 118,000 square metres (1,270,000 sq ft). Place du Portage IV accommodates approximately 3,500 office workers, almost exclusively Employment and Social Development Canada staff (which includes Service Canada staff). 45°25′32″N 75°42′46″W  /  45.42556°N 75.71278°W  / 45.42556; -75.71278 Hull, Quebec Hull

1330-568: Was once the town's main commercial area, and displacing some 4,000 residents. The disco era of the 1970s ushered in new prosperity for Hull's nightlife, and "Viva Disco" was named in Playboy magazine's top ten in North America. In the early 1980s, Hull City Council began encouraging the expansion of bars in the downtown area. Bars in Hull continued to remain open two additional hours compared to bars in Ontario, and some bars offered

1368-512: Was operationally functional since 1993, the Department of Human Resources Development Act was not adopted until 29 May 1996 and officially entered into force on 12 July 1996 when it received Royal Assent and was published in the Canada Gazette . 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

1406-444: 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

1444-462: Was the only original city name among the five final names offered as choices for the amalgamated city. A majority of the residents of all five cities chose Gatineau. In 2004, there was a referendum to decide whether Hull would remain in Gatineau. The majority of those who voted in Hull voted against the de-amalgamation, and the status quo prevailed. Hull is located at the confluence of the Gatineau and Ottawa rivers. Navigation beyond Ottawa-Hull on

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