Evidence of meeting #81 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was youth.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
I don't think you're calculating that correctly. The average wage has gone up, and yet you haven't incorporated that into the number of jobs you're considering.
I will move on to something else—
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
I want to say, Tracy, that I'm looking at your numbers and I'm looking at the calculations here. While we say, for example, 70,000 jobs, when it goes to second-round funding and allocations, it's always higher, so 70,000 jobs is usually closer to 79,000 jobs.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Minister, how much has the average wage increased since 2018? Do you know that number? Have you incorporated that into your numbers when you're looking at how many jobs there are in terms of the total funding?
It's a yes or no. Have you incorporated that?
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Well, it's not a yes or no, because you're also dealing with different provinces. You're dealing with different minimum wages, so it's not a yes or no. What happens, Tracy, in Kelowna—Lake Country, British Columbia, is not the same as what happens in Toronto, Ontario.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
I will go on to something else, Minister, because you're not answering the question.
What is the ESDC department cost decrease year over year to administer half as much Canada summer jobs funding and fewer job placements? What is the cost—
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
What do you mean by “fewer job placements”? Can you give me those numbers?
Conservative
Liberal
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Well, you've confirmed yourself that there are not as many job placements.
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
But I want to hear from you, as far as “fewer job placements” is concerned, if you could—
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Sure. This goes right from your own numbers.
The number of Canada summer jobs created in 2021 was 124,000, roughly, and in 2022 it was 114,000. You have confirmed that they are now down to about 70,000, so my question is this. You're cutting the funding down to prepandemic levels, and there'll also be fewer job placements than there have been over the last couple of years. What is the decrease—
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Let me finish my question, Minister, because this is my time—
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Please do.
Mrs. Tracy Gray:
What is the decrease in the cost to your department for going back to prepandemic levels in administering this program? What is the cost decrease to your department?
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
I'm still looking at the numbers, Tracy. What I'm saying is that your math doesn't work for me. I'm listening to what you're saying and I'm listening to the math. You have the number of jobs going down. I'm looking at your numbers. I see up, not down, for Kelowna—Lake Country.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Minister, these are your numbers. You have confirmed that the funding is going back down to prepandemic levels.
Conservative
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
No, it's not regardless, Tracy. The program started at 35,000 jobs and it's 70,000.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
My question, Minister, is this. You're going back to prepandemic levels. What will be the cost decreases to the department for administering less funding and administering fewer job placements than there have been over the last couple of years?
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
You're asking a department question, so I will go the department.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
You're not familiar with what the cost decreases would be.
Liberal
Marci Ien Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Tracy, do you know what? I reject that wholeheartedly. I would say, and respectfully so, that I'm here, obviously, as the minister, but to insinuate at all that I don't know what I'm talking about—
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Well, Minister, you're not able to answer the questions.