Good morning. Thank you very much.
Higher levels of education are linked to higher earning potential, a lower likelihood of unemployment, greater resilience during economic downturns, and many other public, private, social, and economic benefits.
Today I'll be speaking about programs that encourage post-secondary education participation, as well as skills and training initiatives, particularly for low-income Canadians.
On the savings side, we know that children who have savings in a registered education savings plan, as Heather indicated, are more likely to attend post-secondary education, regardless of parental income, parental education, and other factors. Research shows that it's the presence, and not the amount, of savings that creates the aspirational effect of thinking about post-secondary education.
Currently, almost half of all Canadian children, or about 3.5 million, have more than $47 billion accumulated in registered education savings plans for their future post-secondary education.
ESDC offers two savings incentives linked to RESPs: the Canada education savings grant and the Canada learning bond, or CLB. The education savings grant is available to all eligible Canadian children, and it offers a 20% grant on the first $2,500 of annual personal contributions made for a child, with an additional 10% or 20% on the first $500 saved each year for a child from a middle-income or low-income family.
In addition, the Canada learning bond provides up to $2,000 in education savings to children from low-income families. To date, the CLB has benefited 831,000 children, and while contributions are not required to receive the Canada learning bond, in 2015, 80% of children who received that also had personal contributions in their RESPs, with an average personal contribution of just over $1,000, which compares to $1,500 for CESG RESPs.
In addition, the Canada student loans program provides grants and loans to eligible students to help them with the cost of their education.
In 2013-14, over half a million students received Canada student loans, and more than three out of five of those also received a grant.
The repayment assistance plan helps borrowers who have difficulty with repayment, and in 2013-2014 that program helped 234,000 people. Budget 2016 announced improvements for students from low-income and middle-income families, and as of August 1, the Canada student grants were increased by 50%. These went from $2,000 to $3,000 for students from low-income families, from $800 to $1,200 for students from middle-income families, and from $1,200 to $1,800 per school year for part-time students from low-income families. Together these will benefit over 350,000 students.
The government has committed to extending the eligibility for Canada student grants for the next school year, allowing more full-time students to take advantage of it.
To help make debt more manageable for students, budget 2016 also announced improvements to the repayment assistance plan. As of November 1, no single borrower will need to repay a loan until earning at least $25,000 per year, and that loan threshold increases with family size. Those who have earnings above the thresholds may still be eligible for reduced payments.
Turning to literacy and essential skills, we know these help to foster resilience for Canadians; they help to strengthen the individual's capacity to enter into the middle class; and they help those who relapse into poverty.
The Government of Canada is investing in essential skills development through direct investments and transfers to the provinces and territories.
Emphasis is on individuals who are unemployed, underemployed, and in precarious employment, as well as on those with low skills and those who face multiple barriers, such as indigenous people, youth, women, and newcomers.
Skills training in Canada is supported by labour market transfer agreements with provinces and territories, and these represent a federal investment of nearly $3 billion. In support of strengthening skills training and employment, budget 2016 committed additional investments, including $125 million for labour market development agreements and $50 million for the Canada job fund agreements in 2016-2017. These will help unemployed and underemployed Canadians get the jobs they need.
Budget 2016 also contains a commitment to broad consultations with the provinces, territories and stakeholders to obtain their views on how to improve overall programs in this regard.
Over the summer, valuable feedback was received from over 700 stakeholders. The results were prepared in a report and provided to the Forum of Labour Market Ministers. The report was endorsed, and it will now form a collaborative approach to working together with provinces and territories towards the next generation of agreements. These will be flexible and responsive to the needs of unemployed, underemployed, under-represented groups, and employers; they will build on strong evidence-based programming; and they will aim to foster capacity to develop innovative program approaches.
The Government of Canada also invests directly in employment, including through the youth employment strategy and the opportunities fund for persons with disabilities. Budget 2016 proposed additional investments in the youth employment strategy, and an expert panel on youth employment was launched to help inform future investments in youth employment.
I'll stop there and return the floor to you, Mr. Chair.