Evidence of meeting #17 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was families.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
It's a very specific question as we don't have a lot of time. Do you think decisions made by the government as they relate to immigration over the last 10 years have contributed to this problem?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I think that the problem is complex and I'm looking forward to my meeting later this month with provincial and territorial colleagues.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
I'm not saying it's the only factor. Do you think it's one of the factors, though?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I think that there are a number of factors going into why youth are experiencing a higher unemployment rate—
Conservative
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
—and that's why budget 2025 has so many measures to support youth.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
I'll just ask it again.
Do you think immigration is one of those contributing factors to youth unemployment?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
I think there are many factors that are going into why a young person can't find a job—
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
I agree there are many factors. Do you think immigration is one of them?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
—and that's why budget 2025 has specific measures to alleviate those challenges.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Do you think immigration is one of those factors, Minister?
Liberal
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
I agree there are multiple factors. Is immigration one of them?
Liberal
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Is immigration one of those factors?
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
One of the biggest things that is affecting youth unemployment from an economist's perspective is the challenging economic times posed by tariff action.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Minister, is immigration one of those factors?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Thank you, Mr. Genuis.
Your time has concluded.
We'll now conclude with Madam Koutrakis for four minutes to end.
Liberal
Annie Koutrakis Liberal Vimy, QC
Thank you, Minister.
I thought I would give you some uninterrupted time to perhaps speak to us about some issues that perhaps are very important for us to hear as a committee and for all Canadians who are watching right now.
Are there some issues that you would like to speak to us about that we have not already touched upon today?
I want to sincerely thank you for all your answers. They've been wholesome and to the point. I would like to offer you the rest of my speaking time to end this amazing committee meeting today.
Liberal
Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Well, that's very generous.
What I'd like to speak about is budget 2025 and the transformational change that it represents for not just young Canadians, but Canadians in general. In fact, you'll remember we were just in an election seven or eight months ago. What did Canadians talk about? They talked about their fear of what a changing relationship, from a trade perspective, with the United States would represent in their day-to-day lives. People were afraid of what it might mean for their jobs, for their families and for Canada's outcome. There's a huge swell of nationalism and pride in Canada.
This budget actually meets the moment. It invests in the kind of building that will take us into the next generation, whether it's a major project, a clean energy project, a pipeline, a dam or an expansion of roads or ports. Those things are the kinds of investments that Canadians know are not just job creation efforts; they're wealth creators for Canada. They allow us to diversify to other economies.
The second thing I'll say is that the budget invests in people. It is a care budget. There is a commitment to holding on to all the things that make people's lives better. You talked about dental care; that is retained. You talked about early learning and child care; that is retained. There's a commitment to making the national school food program permanent. That is a care commitment.
There is a commitment to Canada student loans and grants, which is something that we know students need. There are commitments to continue with the Canada child benefit and in fact to continue to index it to inflation. That's something that these Conservatives are voting against and have voted against. While we see politics rear its head and people talk about issues that they say are deeply important to them, what could be more important to a struggling mom than the ability to have a few extra dollars in her pocket?
Why do I know that? Because I was a single mother. I can tell you as a single mother raising two boys, when you have a little bit of extra money in your pocket, regardless of where it comes from, it's money you spend on your kids. It could be for formula, it could be for karate, it could be so that you could take your kids to the movies or maybe they need a new pair of shoes. That's the discretion that these programs give parents. They give them the flexibility and breathing room, so that they can actually make decisions for their family.
When Conservatives vote against those kinds of things, they're voting directly against the extra dollars that a mom like I was could desperately use. I remember those days. There was a time where I worked three jobs. I worked full time. I had a part-time gig as a graphic designer. Lots of people make fun of that work online—many of our colleagues' supporters—but that was an important part-time job for me that supplemented my income.
I was also a lunchroom supervisor. Actually, they called them monitors. We would go in and help kids get their lunch. That to me was a really important job in retrospect because—wow—now with a national food program, I can tell you that, hopefully, gone are the days when people have to scramble for an extra two bucks so that a child they're watching doesn't feel left out of pizza day. Hopefully, there will be less hunger in our schools.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bobby Morrissey
Thank you, Madam Koutrakis.
That concludes this particular meeting. We'll meet again on Thursday, November 27 as we begin the temporary foreign worker program.
Madam Minister, thank you for appearing for the full two hours before HUMA, along with your staff.
Is it the will of the committee to adjourn?