Evidence of meeting #29 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 youth.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Yves Robillard Liberal Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Thank you very much.
I'll share my time with my colleague.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Thank you.
Ms. Bezanson, I want to ask you a question quickly. I like this notion of the school-to-work transition strategy. What exactly would it look like? Could you present that in writing to the committee subsequent to this? Could you tell us who the partners are and what the timelines are, recognizing that the focus would be on how, in the current environment, this strategy is going to help? Our government is committed to investing, to growing the economy, and to creating jobs, but with the current market as it is, how does this strategy help us make the connections that you're proposing we make? If you could provide that in writing after, that would be great.
My question this morning is to representatives of the Boys and Girls Clubs.
I heard you say that you need increased access, or that it would help with the work you're doing to have increased access, to after-school programs. You spoke about encouraging success in education and how those after-school programs are successful there. Can you speak about some of the other programs—the youth social justice programs or the meal programs—and how these programs aid in poverty reduction and prevention? I'm thinking of areas of mental health and physical health.
Would you also be able to share any statistical data on the success you have had?
9:35 a.m.
Director, Research and Public Policy, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada
I don't have the data for you. I will find it for you today.
9:35 a.m.
Director, Research and Public Policy, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada
One of our former board members, Sid Frankel, has done research on how quality after-school programs mitigate the impacts of poverty. Some of the examples are lack of adequate food and nutrition, access to nutritious food, and food literacy programs. We have just received funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada to deliver a food literacy program that is pan-Canadian. It's a very big initiative, with partners in the media, so we're looking forward to changing that culture and teaching young people how to cook food, because a lot of young people who live in poverty may be responsible for food or meal planning in the family and they don't have those food skills. That's one way.
9:35 a.m.
Director, Research and Public Policy, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada
They mitigate the family's stress by offering support. After-school programs are not just for kids. They're for families as well. They provide care for kids after school in cases where parents are working. They address inadequate opportunities for health-promoting activities. A lot of kids want to participate in sports or leadership programs, and their parents can't afford to send them to those programs.
All of the programs of the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club, for instance, are free. Some of our clubs are like that, and if they're not free, they're barrier-free.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bryan May
Thank you. I have let you run a bit over there. I'm sorry.
Hopefully, we'll have a chance to come back and you can finish your thought. Thank you.
For five minutes, Ms. Ashton, go ahead, please.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Thank you so much.
Thank you to all of our witnesses who are here today to speak to this important issue.
It's not lost on me that many of you talked about the impacts of rising precarious work, particularly amongst young Canadians in the millennial generation, a generation that I'm part of as well.
I've actually been involved with a national tour across the country looking at this trend, but also at something that many people are referring to as a national emerging crisis. I thank you for a number of very strong recommendations in terms of trying to deal with this and what this means, not only for today's young people but also for our country as a whole.
I do want to direct my questions to Ms. Norgang from the CLC. Unfortunately, we do have limited time, but thank you so much for sharing very clear recommendations coming out of the report by the CLC entitled “Diving without a Parachute—Young Canadians versus a Precarious Economy”.
In that report the CLC talks about the need for deep structural change to truly address climate change, inequality, precarious work, and the future that we ultimately want to achieve. Could you expand more on the deep structural changes that the CLC and many people are talking about, that are necessary in order to deal with these challenges ahead?
9:40 a.m.
Senior Researcher, Canadian Labour Congress
As I already mentioned with regard to the questions on deep structural training change, over-qualification in Canada and our high enrolment rates in university and education point to the fact that access to education is certainly not the sole recipe for success. It's also not simply a problem of skills mismatch. What we really need to be doing is thinking about the sorts of jobs we're fostering for young people and the way in which employers and workplaces are using these skills and these graduates' capacities.
Mr. Warawa's question pointed to connecting this to the growing population or the aging population in Canada. He pointed to jobs in home care. We're looking at a shortage of hospital beds ahead. That's simply not the right avenue for a lot of our older population.
Part of the problem, as you mentioned, is that those jobs tend to be low-wage jobs. They have unpredictable hours, and they have a lot of health and safety risks. Part of this is that workplaces are changing. They're much smaller workplaces, or people are working individually. We have to make sure that labour laws and employment standards are changing along with this. By doing so, we can make sure that these types of need-connected jobs are good and decent jobs.
Canadian labour relations are based on the Wagner model, which was based on large workplaces. How can we explore broader-based bargaining to give these workers the tools they need to advocate for good, decent work? We also need to think about the question I posed earlier about self-employment. Are employers misclassifying workers as self-employed? If so, workers in these desperately needed fields don't have access to basic standards and minimums.
The other piece, again, is apprenticeships and making sure that these apprenticeships are connected to the jobs that are needed. I did mention that we have very low completion rates, and part of this is that employers just aren't doing their part in hiring, training, and taking on these apprentices. In order to complete an apprenticeship, you need a certain number of hours to actually achieve certification. However, only one in five employers who need these skilled workers—so about 19%—actually hire and train apprentices. This is very low.
Since 1993, employer investment in training has decreased by 40%, so employers just aren't doing their part in training the workers for these jobs that they need. Government investment in training has also decreased, which actually ranks Canada near the bottom of the list of OECD countries.
I think you make a really good point—and it's come up again—when you say that we should really foster the jobs that we need and make sure that those jobs are good, decent jobs.
9:40 a.m.
NDP
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Do you think that the federal government also ought to be a model employer? We do know, of course, about the use of unpaid internships within the federal government and the emergence of two-tiered workplaces, much of which is being fought over at the bargaining table.
Do you think that, both in-house and beyond, the federal government ought to be setting a higher standard for young workers and putting an end to the rise of precarious work?
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bryan May
We're actually over time, but I'm going to give you about 15 to 20 seconds to summarize that, if you can.
9:40 a.m.
Senior Researcher, Canadian Labour Congress
Absolutely. The federal government needs to do more. A lot of people used to see the public sector as full-time, permanent employment, but that's not the case anymore. Many young people are entering the federal public service, and they are working contract to contract, sometimes indefinitely. We also have a fiasco right now with the Phoenix pay system, and this is very problematic.
We need to really consider the imposition of two-tiered contracts within the federal public sector. Right now, there is a movement in Quebec. The Quebec government passed a resolution to ban the imposition of two-tiered contracts. Now we're waiting for them. There's a big push for them to actually create legislation to do this, and this is—
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bryan May
Sorry to interrupt, but we're way over time.
Mr. Ruimy, go ahead, please. You have five minutes.
November 17th, 2016 / 9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Thank you, everybody, for presenting some really great presentations that are going to contribute to this study. I'm looking forward to seeing how this is going to turn out.
I'm going to direct my comments to Ruth and Orville from the Pathfinder Youth Centre Society.
As you know, I'm a big fan of your organization. Attending your classes is one of the best things that I feel I'm contributing to. You talked a lot about mentorship. The two hours I spend with each of your classes have been especially rewarding for me. There are about 20 of them in the classes, and they're talking about the challenges they face and where they're going forward.
I want to focus on a few things for your program. I want to begin with this question first, though. You have the funding model. Do you know how many people you put through on a regular basis in a year?
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
It depends on when the federal government approves the contracts. It really varies and there are times when we'll have one or two intakes and there are times when we'll have three. Time is really a question of when we negotiate that, and there's nothing ever set in stone. Every intake, we service probably anywhere between 10 and 20 youth. Again, it depends on financial situations, federal government budgets, and time.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
Yes. For every intake we probably have anywhere from 80 to 100 youth apply, and we'll have only 10 to 20 seats.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
How do you think the federal government can change that? When we look at that funding model, you mention that every you wait year for the funding to be announced to you.
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
Yes. We post multiple-year contracts. Consistency is key, being able to rely on that service every time. I think when Orville and I started this there were probably about 15 other service providers that were there that you could funnel off to. If it didn't work for your program, there was another service provider to capture that youth. But now I believe that just in our Maple Ridge community there are only maybe two or three of us, so there's a lack of services for them.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Okay. In your opinion what are the most significant barriers youth at risk are facing to successfully enter the job market?
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
I would say mental health and poverty. Mental health is the biggest factor. Schooling completion is what we try to focus on as well. As they go through the program, they realize that they need to further their education. We work with youth who have a mentality of grade eight or grade nine, but they're 22. They realize that, and then they go back and they complete their GED or their Dogwood.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Okay. It's great that you have the opportunity and that the federal government is reaching out here. Are you working with any local businesses as part of a partner strategy to tackle some of these issues?
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
No. We call on them for the work experience component only. No one's really stepped up to say they really fully want to take on a partnership role with us. Also, a lot of employers get burned out because there wasn't enough time to resolve the issue of why they can't keep a job. Again, it stems back to mental health and addressing that first before we can move forward. That is key.