Evidence of meeting #139 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was workers.
A video is available from Parliament.
Edmonton Griesbach, CPC
Mr. Chair, on a point of order, that has nothing to do with this.
Liberal
Liberal
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
—to actually solving our labour shortage is a robust and healthy immigration strategy.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bryan May
I have to cut you off anyway, because that is your time.
We only have time for one more question, but let's try to keep it relevant, guys, to the minister's mandate.
MP Sangha.
Liberal
Ramesh Sangha Liberal Brampton Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will share my time with MP Dan Ruimy.
Minister, thank you very much. With your team, you've given very good input regarding employment. During your answer to one question, you told us that there is a shortage. You agree that there is a shortage of manpower.
In my riding of Brampton Centre, we have seen that SMEs are suffering from a critical shortage of manpower. You also agreed that students have the education, but they don't have the skills. Employers don't want to hire them because they can't give them proper training. Once they train them, they leave and go away. There is a critical shortage. What are you doing for that?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
MP Sangha, I will say there is not one silver bullet solution to the labour shortage. I think part of it is what I have in my portfolio, which is making sure that more people have an opportunity to access skills training and paid work experiences whenever possible. You're right that employers often don't want to take a risk on a young person or a person with new skills who hasn't tested them in the workplace. We have to help support employers to take that risk. That's why things like the student work placement program—60,000 of them across the country—is so critical to making sure that employers have the confidence that they can hire a student, that the students have the confidence that they can get a job in their sector and that we play a bit of a role of matchmaker as the Government of Canada making sure people land in their sectors fully skilled up.
We have to make sure that older workers who have been out of school for a long time have the kinds of financial support they need. Older workers benefit when people can actually have extra financial supports through grants, whether to take care of their children or to help pay for some of the bills that we acquire as older people, and take the chance to go back to school. As a matter of fact, that's a very personal story for me because I didn't graduate until I was 28, and it's a very hard thing to do to go back to school when you have children who are financially dependent on you. We want to make sure that we clear the way for those older workers who have been out of school for a while and that people have an opportunity to see themselves as students again or gain skills that are going to help them move forward on their earnings.
Quite frankly, we also have one of the fastest-growing populations in our country, and that's indigenous young people. The indigenous population is really the only place where we see high birth rates and an opportunity to actually tap into those indigenous young people and ensure that they have skills earlier on, that they have a career path and that they can actually match up their skills and their training with the available jobs in this country. I think that would be also an opportunity for employers.
Finally, and I mentioned it to MP Diotte, we have to be very protective of a robust immigration strategy because, quite frankly, we just are not growing enough people to meet our labour shortages across the country.
Thank you.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Thank you very much.
I'm going to jump back to summer jobs again. I know that over the last year there was a lot feedback coming in through surveys. I know we got a better return on the surveys. From all these consultations one of the things that came out was that you no longer have to be a student to actually qualify because it puts them at a disadvantage. For the disadvantaged ones, it's not fair.
Looking at that, can you share with us what the future holds for Canada summer jobs perhaps year round? What are your thoughts? What have you been hearing? What's the next evolution?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I wish I could speak for the future, but I can't. I will say, though, that the changes we made this year are critical to making sure the program is accessible to as many young people as possible. You're right. We did survey employers and youth on their experience with Canada summer jobs 2018, and 89% of participants and 78% of employers were satisfied or very satisfied with the program, which means that it's beloved by both employers and the people who are taking advantage of it as young people.
Based on feedback, we decided to make it more accessible, to your point. You know, I will say that it really warms my heart that some of the strongest advocates for opening up this program to people besides students were the young people themselves, who worried about their friends who were not in college or university or going back to another full-time year of study. They said it's great that they get to take part in this, but they really wish their friend down the street who's not going to school next year could take part in this program as well. Youth continue to advocate for each other, which is truly quite remarkable.
Also, Canada summer jobs this year will be posted online on job banks, because one of the things we heard was that sometimes you have to be in the know, especially in smaller communities like mine. If you know someone in a small business, you might be the first person to get the job, or maybe the job isn't posted. This year, all the jobs will be posted online. Students will be able to look across the country to see what jobs are available in their communities but also in other communities, if they're interested. I have a lighthouse in my riding. It's a pretty neat experience. The students get to spend the six to eight weeks out at the lighthouse. Students from all across the country apply for an opportunity to take part in that Canada summer jobs program.
We also made sure that we'll continue to ask for this feedback. Next year we'll be asking for feedback again, and to your point, MP Ruimy, that's when we have the opportunity to continue to evolve the program. As we get feedback from participants and employers, I think it's our obligation as legislators to look at how we can improve it continually year over year.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bryan May
Thank you very much, Minister. That takes us to the top of the hour. I want to thank you for coming back and spending a little more time with us and sharing with us some information on a subject which I know a lot of people around this table have a passion for.
Committee members, I just want to remind you that the next meeting will be on March 21. It will be the first meeting on M-194 with officials and MP Sheehan. On April 2, we will have the first set of witnesses for M-194.
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you to my colleagues, to the folks to the left and the right, the folks in the booth and the tech people who made today's meeting possible.
The meeting is adjourned.