Mr. Speaker, on Monday, October 19, I attended the opening of a new workshop run by the Montreal youth centres, in my beautiful riding of Verdun—Saint-Henri, at Pointe-Saint-Charles to be precise. These youth centres have decided to work together to help young people who are not properly prepared for the labour market.
Indeed, young people between the ages of 18 and 24 living in low-income neighbourhoods have one of the highest unemployment rates on the island of Montreal. According to Statistics Canada, it was close to 21.2% in 1996. From March 1998 to March 1999, Human Resources Development will be funding the project to the tune of $147,156, or 58% of the project cost.
Our young people must be well prepared because, the youth unemployment rate being what it is, they are facing a major challenge—