Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I view a motion like this one as a tangible way for the federal government to contribute to the effort to reduce poverty. I was a field worker myself in 2007. I experienced first hand the end of this program and I was forced to look for staff throughout the summer to meet the needs of children who were either in primary school or under the age of 5 and who were also financially or intellectually deprived. Ideally, we were looking for young university students to work with them. Under the program, Canada Summer Jobs, qualified university students could be hired to work with these young children.
Therefore, I see the motion on the table as a tangible way of helping children and youth in our communities break out of the cycle of poverty. We need these qualified individuals to achieve this objective. We cannot be satisfied with offering specific jobs that pay a decent minimum wage only to students who are just beginning CEGEP or students in their last year of secondary school and for whom this will be their first job. This program allows us to recruit young university students who may be a little more qualified.
This is a concrete initiative. It may end up saving some underprivileged youth, even if it is only one person who is saved. I've seen cases where young university students have helped underprivileged youth turn their lives around.
Moreover, these summer jobs help young university students as well as CEGEP and secondary students who might be thinking about quitting school to hold on to a dream, to develop a taste for the working world and to stay in school, because dropping out of school is also a problem.
As I see it, making financial adjustments to the program to take into account provincial minimum wage provisions is one way that the government can make a tangible, direct contribution. Clearly, it is a solution that should be embraced by this committee as it looks for concrete ways of reducing poverty.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.