Yes, since the beginning of the pandemic, we've seen young people working in more vulnerable sectors, including the restaurant industry, which shut down across Canada during the pandemic. Many youth are also working in the tourism sector or in seasonal jobs. These sectors are always likely to shut down when we go through a crisis like this. Therefore, more young people lost their jobs.
The reason young people don't qualify for employment insurance is that you need to have worked a certain number of hours in the past 12 months to be eligible for EI benefits. As you can imagine, young people who are going to school, are working part-time or have seasonal employment often have more trouble accumulating those hours of insurable employment and aren't eligible for benefits.
We believe that the government should find a way to recognize the status of these young people who have more trouble accumulating insurable hours and make them eligible for benefits. By resolving this issue disproportionately affecting young people, we can keep them from being challenged. We hope the government will quickly address this issue as part of EI reform.