We need to have a discussion on the alignment between federal funding sources and the eligibility criteria set by the Quebec government. Basically, federal funding is blocked from reaching our organizations directly because of jurisdictional conflicts. We need to sit down with the federal government and the Quebec government to come up with the best way to deliver these funds more directly to young people.
To give you some idea, federal funding accounts for about 70% of investments in the Quebec employment sector. Because of the way they are administered, more than 25,000 young people were denied services in the past year. This includes youths who are underemployed, in school or interested in returning to school. However, that doesn't appear in federal agreements. We need to get back to the negotiating table and align the agreements with their administrative application, while taking current labour market realities into account.