Our members believe that education is the key to a healthy, prosperous society. We believe that post-secondary education is the path that will allow all Canadians to reach their full potential. But before many Canadians can even dream of going on to college or university or of studying a skilled trade, they must improve their basic education. Literacy is the key to academic achievement; youth with low literacy scores are unlikely to go on to post-secondary education. Low levels of literacy are one of the main reasons we see such a disappointing participation rate by aboriginal youth in our universities.
This issue does not just concern youth, however. Students continually hear governments across Canada talk about the importance of lifelong learning. Yet this remains largely lip service; governments remain extremely biased towards traditional students who graduate from high school, go on to college or university, and then enter the workforce.
Canada needs a real strategy on lifelong learning. To our members, post-secondary education means not just traditional college and university, but also a true culture of learning that helps all Canadians realize their potential. We should not abandon adults with low levels of literacy. Not only can adult learners complete high school education, but they can also improve their education and advance their careers throughout their lives. We must focus on a high-quality post-secondary system, but we must also focus on the basics, such as literacy. It is for this reason that our members are deeply concerned about the announced cuts to adult learning and literacy programs.
The cuts that affect Canada's students most directly are the $55 million from youth employment initiatives. It seems the cuts will mainly be from the summer career placement program, with this program's budget being cut in half. The SCP program provides employers in communities across Canada with funding to hire students for the summer. These jobs provide students with career-related work experience, mostly in non-profit organizations. The program is extremely successful, with over 50,000 students being hired every summer. Research has shown that both students and employers find their experiences with the program valuable: 91% of students enjoy the jobs they get and 95% of employers are pleased with the performance of the program. It's difficult to think of another government program with a success rating like this.
The program is an engine of job creation. The large majority of employers could not have hired a student without the program's funding, and many more could not have paid the student the same amount of money.
The benefits of this program for Canada's students are significant. First of all, students receive not just a summer job but also a quality summer job, giving them their first career-related work experience. Secondly, the income students receive from summer jobs is vital in order for them to pursue their studies. The benefits of earning a decent wage while also working at a job that provides career experience cannot be exaggerated.
Employers benefit by getting energetic young employees who are committed to learning and developing new skills. Thanks to the funding provided by the government, employers get a summer worker who they would otherwise not have been able to afford.
Canadian communities benefit in many ways as well. Employment increases, which is especially important for rural communities, where students may otherwise have had to look for work in cities. Much of this funding goes to community-based non-profit groups. The jobs created by SCP can help to improve programs in the community. I personally benefited from the SCP program after my second year of university. I was hired by a community group in rural Alberta. My job involved running a youth employment centre that helped other rural youth find jobs and start their own businesses. This was an incredible experience for me, but also a tremendous benefit to the community as a whole.
Implementing these proposed cuts will be detrimental to Canadian students and communities. The cuts are being done in the name of value for money. With the program having such a high success rate, it's difficult to see how the program is not currently delivering value for money.
Some in the government have made arguments that funding should be diverted away from federal ridings with high employment, and from private corporations, towards areas of higher need. Now, there's a legitimate argument for making the SCP program more targeted. Certain areas of the country may have a greater need than others for funding to increase student summer employment. Funding could also be better focused on improving opportunities for groups such as aboriginal students. Improved targeting of funding does not necessitate a cut in funding; in fact, better targeting of the existing funding would produce better results.
I'll now pass the floor over to Mr. Ouellette, who will leave you with some finishing remarks.