Human Resources Committee on Oct. 25th, 2023

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Thank you, Ms. Randall.

Mr. Jones, what are your observations?

[Devon Jones]

Yes, we would definitely like a longer term. That would help us in our ability to hire.

Also, for example, let's say that you submit your application and it's agreed that you're allocated, say, 10 spots. I would like the ability to add additional spots. As it stands right now, the allocation is the allocation. We would like the ability to hire more, because if you have 10 spots and you have more kids registered for camp, you want to make the camp bigger. Also, you have young people who want to work, but you don't have the ability to pay them. If the program could have that level of flexibility, that would be awesome.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

You have a minute and a half left.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

All right, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Jones, there will be another Canada Summer Jobs program. For the one last year, was there a discrepancy between the number of positions you applied for and the number you were awarded under the Canada Summer Jobs program? Did you receive less funding? If so, did this have an impact on your work?

[Devon Jones]

We got fewer than the number requested. I think we requested 45. We got somewhere around 26 or so. Based on the allocation and the space, with the way the classrooms are structured, the gym is structured and the outdoor activities are structured, we then had to say to campers that we couldn't accommodate them at camp. We had to say to young people we wanted to hire that we couldn't hire them, because we didn't have the amount of resources to hire all those people.

That's where the flexibility comes in, where we could go back to the summer jobs program and say, “Listen, this is the number of young people we have who we would like to hire.” They're stuck on “your number's your number”, you know.

I know that other camps had to give money back because they couldn't run their camps. There's obviously a surplus in other areas. Why not reallocate those surpluses so we can use them to run a more successful camp?

This summer was a tough one for us, based on the fact that we had to turn campers away in a community where, if kids are running the streets, we all know all too well what the outcome is going to be. That's somewhat tragic and detrimental. We'd like that flexibility to be able to say, “We have all these kids in camp and this is the number we need.”

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Chabot.

Next we have Ms. Zarrillo for six minutes.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you very much.

Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.

Actually, Mr. Emmanuel, it's the first time we've had an opportunity to talk to students, so I'm going to ask you a few questions, if that's all right. You're the first witness who is actually a student who has gone through the program.

The Canada summer jobs grants define the goal as providing “flexible and holistic services” to help youth in Canada “develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into the labour market”. We've heard from organizations that there are lots of opportunities for employment.

One of the things I am interested in as part of this study is what other things youth are in need of in regard to getting into the labour force. Besides the work, are there other things the Government of Canada could offer? The one I've been thinking about is tax information: disability tax credit eligibility or other tax credit eligibility. I'm just wondering if you could share with us if there are other things that you think could be involved in the summer jobs grants that would help youth transition to the labour market.

[Christopher Emmanuel]

Yes, I definitely believe so, like you said there are the tax benefits and what they do.

For myself, I would say there's definitely the ability to able to be placed in a field where you have a goal in mind, and you have something that you are trying to achieve. For example, I want to be an accountant, so it's being able to be placed in a place where there are things like math going on and the ability to learn from great educators and all those different opportunities.

I know a lot of youth who would love to work somewhere where they could work with younger kids or youth, but those types of spots are very limited due to the fact that money is going to different places and allocated to other avenues. I think being able to be put in a position where you could work towards something that you're passionate about, and you have a goal for.... I know many youth, especially those who work for YAAACE, want to be teachers when they grow up. Last year, I believe, we had two counsellors who wanted to be teachers and to have it on their resumés that they worked with YAAACE to help push kids to different limits and boundaries in that educational field really helped get them those jobs and the experience that they greatly needed.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

That's interesting because I'm thinking about networks now. For networking or being able to do post-networking, is it something that you've seen offered through the summer jobs grant or have you been able to make networks outside of the job?

[Christopher Emmanuel]

Yes, definitely. For example, one of the big networks I'm with right now is the Pinball Clemons Foundation, which is helping students of marginalized communities get free education for university. You have to keep a certain grade and you get that opportunity to go to university and to study in the field you're after.

Being with YAAACE—I've really been only with them—it's opened a lot of opportunities for me. For example, even being here is a great opportunity I don't think I'd ever have if I wasn't part of this organization. The summer jobs and just being part of something that is more than just the sports or the academics is very good, especially for young people.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I'm not sure if I captured it properly, but I think you said it's been eight years you've been going through camp and doing the teaching.

[Christopher Emmanuel]

Yes.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I wanted to talk a little bit about persons with disabilities, and I'm just wondering if you could share your experiences. Are you seeing persons with disabilities coming through the camp, or on accessibility needs, have you seen any barriers that way? There's also an opportunity for supplements around disabilities, so I'm just wondering if that's something that you've experienced or seen increase over the years.

[Devon Jones]

By disability, do you mean physical or learning disability?

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Actually, any type of disability.

[Christopher Emmanuel]

From my personal experience, I haven't seen any disabilities come through the camp. It's very accepting. We would definitely accommodate for those who have those disabilities, but from my personal experience, I haven't seen this, especially physically because it's a very rigid program. It's athletic sports. However, we accommodate everyone's needs, where they're at and where they want to be, and then we guide them to that place where they would like to be at the end of that summer.

Even with the academic part, we have had kids who don't learn as fast as maybe some of their peers. For example, I would sometimes take a group of kids and bring them to a room and work with them and go at their own pace. Whatever they may need help with, whatever they're struggling with that others may not be, we accommodate for them because we also don't want them to be looked at differently because they may be getting special treatment or they may be a little slower than the other kids. We take them in that confined space and make sure that they're going at their pace, that they don't feel rushed and that they don't feel any type of...especially from the other kids. We just work with them in those aspects.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Thank you, Ms. Zarrillo.

[Devon Jones]

I'm sorry. Let me speak to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Mr. Jones, you'll have to catch it in the next round. I have to stay close to the timeline.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you. I'll get you on my next round.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bobby Morrissey]

Ms. Ferreri, go ahead for five minutes.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think Mr. Jones had some stuff he wanted to add to that.

I'll ask you a couple of questions and try to get everything in five minutes.

I'm curious about how you track yourself. How long have you been using the Canada summer jobs program?

[Devon Jones]

We have since its inception.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

How do you track the success of that? Do you keep a log of what's happened to the students who took those jobs?

[Devon Jones]

Definitely. My executive director is a professor and researcher, so we document the process and the trajectory of all the campers, for starters. We have a treasure trove of information. We just did a comprehensive study with the faculty of education at Laurier around the capacity and aptitude of the kids who have gone through our program. We have that research.

For students who have gone through as our mentors, we also document their tenure with us and where they go next. A lot of our kids have the opportunity to go to post-secondary through a bursary program offered by the Pinball Clemons Foundation.

We actually measure and document, so we have it.