Evidence of meeting #77 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 students.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:05 p.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
We only get four hours of time with Scott per week. The cost for our staff to be there is $23 an hour.
5:05 p.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
So the cost is minor compared to the impact of taking that person whom you identified and successfully transitioning them to a job.
5:05 p.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
If I could sum up, prevent is better than cure.
At one point a few years back, it cost us $325,000 to help 45 kids in one year, but then the government took it and put it with people in the jails to increase that amount. To house one youth in juvenile jail it costs $100,000.
5:05 p.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
It's $100,000. For us to deal with 45 kids at $325,000, why wouldn't we want to invest that?
5:05 p.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
I would say about four or five years ago. We're looking at 45 kids, if not saved, would cost us $100,000 each. Why not invest the $325,000?
5:05 p.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Unless you put that human face on it, sometimes the system overlooks.... I really appreciate your coming in and identifying it, because one time I tried to find that ballpark number, because if we're going to target funding....
This is my last question for Colleen, Ruth, and Orville. If you were going to advise Parliament on where it should target its limited resources, because we do have to be fiscally prudent, and this government has put substantive new resources in this whole suite of programs, where would you continue to focus on?
I would ask all three of you to quickly comment.
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa
I would certainly focus on new Canadians because the schools are overwhelmed, quite honestly, and they are really having a lot of difficulty servicing these kids and getting them the language. These are kids who don't speak English or French and are all of a sudden thrown into the school system, and they really struggle.
I think there has to be additional supports, and that's what we're seeing. Those are the kids who come to our homework clubs every day after school. They're terrified at school because they can't understand. They don't feel very bright because they can't do it. With 30 kids in a classroom, it's pretty tough to pay attention to those few who aren't getting it.
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
I think we've put it under mental health.
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
Yes, because it's an umbrella to all diverse people.
5:10 p.m.
President and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
Yes. The demographics we're dealing with cannot be ignored. It's growing exponentially. I'm not sure if it's being reflected, the number of individuals who have multiple barriers, different mental health conditions. As we used to say back in football, you're only as strong as the weakest link, so we definitely need to put attention, effort, and funding into that demographic. It's actually scary.
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director and Co-Founder, Pathfinder Youth Centre Society
It strings to many things because they self-medicate, which goes into the drug sector. They steal, which goes into the realm of jail time. It branches out into an evil road.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Tremblay, earlier, we talked about your placement service after graduation. But your notes say that you also assist students after their internships. Are we to understand that a placement service is also offered to graduates even after they leave the institution?
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Internship and Work Placement Services, Université de Sherbrooke, As an Individual
Yes, graduates have access to our bank and the jobs that people send us for a period of two years after graduation.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
The data we obtained from our study show that young people are often the first to be fired in cases of downsizing, because they have less seniority, of course.
Some graduates also don't find jobs when they leave university and therefore are unemployed for a while before landing a first job. In your experience, does this period of unemployment, or this gap in their resumé, between the end of their training and their first job, affect their transition into the job market?
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Internship and Work Placement Services, Université de Sherbrooke, As an Individual
If students absolutely want a job in their field, that's when it becomes difficult and the gap can grow. Right now, we tend to see that students who want to work in fields other than their own will easily find a job within six months of graduation. It may be more difficult to find a job in one's own field, especially for history or geography students, slightly softer subjects, if I may put it that way, for which the market demand is not very high.
We are juggling the various methods of promotion, but a university student should logically find a job in the first six months after completing their training, regardless of their area.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Last week, we heard from a youth ambassador for the federal public service, and she said the same thing. She recommended that young people turn to other types of jobs. This is how she ended up getting a job in her field.
Earlier, we talked about groups, including newcomers, international students and indigenous youth.
Do you think that some young people from disadvantaged groups are more likely to be unemployed?
Do programs need to be created specifically for those groups?
5:15 p.m.
Executive Director, Internship and Work Placement Services, Université de Sherbrooke, As an Individual
We call those individuals “emerging students”.
An article published in La Presse last week indicated that 20% of university students suffer from mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, learning disabilities, the infamous ADHD, and so on. At 20%, this is really one of our concerns. Those students need specific support. We are developing programs for that.
That said, universities are struggling with this trend, but to a lesser extent, since their students have reached university because they have gone through a certain system.
In co-op programs, you have to work much more closely with the students to find an internship when the time comes. They must disclose that they are suffering from a disorder. This is voluntary. In that case, we must strive to develop a relationship of trust with them. I think employers are willing to accept them, but you still have to know why they are anxious or distracted or why they can do only one task at a time instead of four. This is a challenge universities will be facing in the coming years.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Secondary schools have had to deal with it, and so have CEGEPs. Now you do too.
5:15 p.m.
Executive Director, Internship and Work Placement Services, Université de Sherbrooke, As an Individual
They are now coming to university.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Okay.
Are there professionals or support for that?
For our study, could you give us any ideas on how to intervene? The purpose of providing specialized supervision is to reduce inequity and to provide equal opportunities for everyone.
