These are just a few measures of the many that were put in place to help students and youth. Furthermore, a general call-out was made to relevant departments, including ESDC, in order to provide options to enhance existing youth- and student-related programs. This was in response to the government's desire to develop a comprehensive package to help students.
The government wanted it to include a volunteer-service component, so a full series of student measures were pulled together to make up a student package. At the end of April the Prime Minister announced a range of measures to assist students during this crisis. These included improvements to the Canada service corps program delivered by ESDC and the new Canada student service grant. As we have said many times before, it was determined that the most effective and efficient delivery approach would be one through a third party, funded through a contribution agreement.
ESDC delivers a range of programs and services that have a direct impact on Canadians of all ages. These provide seniors with basic income security, support unemployed workers, help students finance their post-secondary education and assist parents who are raising young children. None of these programs has stopped during the pandemic.
I would also like to point out that during the period in question, ESDC, including its delivery arm Service Canada, was completely consumed with the program design and implementation of numerous emergency measures—