Canada. Employment and Immigration Canada (Commission). Prince Edward Island Region : Under the Unemployment Insurance Act of 1940 the newly created Unemployment Commission was directed to establish regional and local offices. The Commission was, in theory, independent of the Department of Labour, yet was largely under its influence. The Commission's Chief Officer of Employment was responsible for the National Employment Service. Local offices reported to the regional directors, who in turn reported to the Executive Director. The Chief Employment Officer was given the responsibility for providing "functional direction" to regional heads on the operation of local offices and also had the responsibility of inspecting the operations of the local offices. With the creation of the Department of Manpower and Immigration in 1966, this structure was left in place. The regional offices included: Atlantic Provinces; Quebec; Ontario; Prairie; Northwest Territories; and Pacific (British Columbia and Yukon). Under this department they were now known as Manpower Employment Centres (MECs).
The centres were to: 1) assist workers by providing referral and placement services and training and mobility programs; 2) assist employers by providing recruitment and selection services; 3) assist in collecting and interpreting information about the local labour market; 4) advise and assist companies and agencies concerned with any aspect of manpower utilization and development. Under the newly created Department of Employment and Immigration the existing regional office structure was reorganized. The Atlantic Regional Office was split, with regional offices being established in each Atlantic Province. The regional offices were administered by a Regional Director who reported to Headquarters in Ottawa. The Canada Employment Centres, as well as Canada Immigration Centres, located in Prince Edward Island, were coordinated by and reported to the Prince Edward Island Regional Office in Charlottetown. This organizational structure remained constant throughout the entire history of both the Department of Manpower and Immigration and the Department of Employment and Immigration.
