Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to the opposition motion. It gives me an opportunity to highlight all the grants and contributions programs that are making such tremendous differences in the lives of so many Canadians.
The grants and contributions we are talking about are moneys that go to help Canadians who have not been able to find work. It is done through targeted wage subsidies and through self-employment assistance. It is money that goes to communities that may not have a diversified economy to help build new opportunities and jobs for the people who want and need them. It is money that goes to young Canadians to help them land their first work experience, or to youth at risk to help them make a fresh start in life. It is money that goes to hundreds of thousands of more Canadians to help them get the literacy and the life and job skills needed to turn their lives around.
These are the kinds of programs we are talking about. They are proven programs that Canadians have come to count on. That money is invested in communities across the country regardless of political stripe.
At the heart of these programs is the notion that in return for individual responsibility we must expand opportunity. We must give Canadians the tools they need to succeed. These programs are about expanding opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.
Our economy with its 1.9 million new jobs is stronger today than it has been in generations. We are making one of the greatest economic expansions in Canadian history with unemployment at its lowest levels in more than two decades.
These programs are hard at work for Canadians who have been left out of the new economy. Thousands of individual Canadians and thousands of small organizations depend on these programs for their livelihood and indeed for their very survival.
The transitional jobs fund created jobs for over 30,000 Canadians, bringing new hope to areas of high unemployment. Its successor, the Canada jobs fund, is continuing to create jobs today. These are practical programs that are helping the unemployed get jobs.
I should point out that the vast majority of the jobs created are permanent year round jobs. The Canada jobs fund's success is based on valuable partnerships forged between the Government of Canada, the provinces and territories, the private sector and local communities to help create opportunities and jobs for Canadians.
I am talking about 30,000 Canadians who now have work thanks to opportunities we have created, work that would not have been available otherwise. We are helping people to provide for themselves and for their families. Those people know the pride of bringing home a regular paycheque and know the dignity of making their own way in the world.
The Government of Canada also recognizes the need to help young people and has acted on it. We have created successful programs to help young people develop the skills they need to build for the future. So far over 300,000 young Canadians have been able to give their careers a boost by landing their first work experience, landing summer jobs or by starting their own businesses.
I am talking about programs that stress both opportunity and responsibility and give our young people the tools they need to compete in the new global economy. Programs like youth service Canada are giving young people the opportunity to serve their communities and to earn money toward their own education.
These programs are bringing tangible benefits to communities from coast to coast to coast. They are giving young Canadians a chance to roll up their sleeves and get involved with projects in crime prevention, literacy and the environment right in their own backyards. These programs are helping youth at risk to put new direction in their lives. They are helping them to learn the enormous value of helping their fellow Canadians.
Programs like youth internship Canada are helping youth to break into the job market and break the no experience, no job cycle. They are giving young people the life and job skills they need to turn their lives around. These internships are providing young people with meaningful work experience in growth sectors of our economy such as science and technology, international trade and development. These programs are really working.
Seventy-eight per cent of youth service Canada participants and 88% of youth internship Canada participants who have finished their programs are now employed, self-employed or have gone back to school. At the same time more than 90% of students and employers were satisfied with their summer job placements. These numbers show Canadians real value for their tax dollars. Once again the numbers tell the story.
In 1998 youth employment in Canada increased more than it did in any other year on record. It increased again last year by another 73,000 jobs. So we begin the new century with the lowest youth unemployment rate in almost a decade and another 12,000 young Canadians found work in January. Even more important, we are giving our young people the confidence to build the future of their dreams. We are giving them the power to seize the opportunities of the new century.
I am absolutely convinced that these programs have helped countless young men and women find opportunities that would otherwise not have been available. I am convinced that these programs are transforming the lives of many Canadians. These programs are proof positive that government can play a significant role in the lives of individual Canadians. They can forge strong partnerships with business and communities to create new opportunities which reward work and strengthen families. We are determined to fulfill our promise to give all Canadians the opportunities to succeed.
Over the next year, rather than slackening the pace, Canadians can expect to see a focused and energetic drive to give more Canadians the tools and opportunities they need to support their families and ensure Canada remains one of the best countries in the world in which to live.