Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for St. Catharines.
I am very pleased to be speaking today about the Canada summer jobs program and national priorities. As you know, Canada Summer Jobs is a federal program that provides employers with funding to help them create summer jobs for students. A summer job is key for students who want to acquire the type of work experience that employers look for in a curriculum vitae while earning money to pay for their next year in school. The work experience students acquire during the summer is important in the educational process, because it makes it easier for them to enter the workforce once they have finished school.
Society and the job market are in constant evolution. As a government, we must ensure that all young Canadians, including those facing obstacles, can get a good job. We must also make sure that employers have access to workers with the skills they need. This year, we set five national priorities for Canada summer jobs in order to be in a better position to meet current and future workforce needs and improve job prospects for young Canadians.
Employers who support these national priorities have been invited to apply, in particular employers who want to hire young people who belong to an under-represented group; small businesses; organizations that provide employment opportunities for official language minority communities; organizations that offer services to the LGBTQ2+ community or that support it; and, lastly, organizations that hire women, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and information and communication technologies. Incidentally, this year, we extended the application period by one week, until February 9.
I would now like to address the reasons for setting each of these priorities. The first concerns under-represented youth. We are aware that all young people face challenges. However, some groups of young people encounter major obstacles, and a summer job can help. Consider young indigenous people, for example. Unfortunately, all too often these young people are less likely to finish secondary school than non-indigenous youth, which has a major impact on their career prospects.
Let's also consider young recent immigrants. Without work experience in Canada, without a professional network, without proficiency in the official languages, and without recognition of their credentials, they are unlikely to be able to get a job and keep it. The numbers speak for themselves: in 2011, 48.9% of young recent immigrants were employed, compared to 61% of youth born in Canada. It is therefore necessary to help these under-represented young people get the work experience they need.
Why are official language minority communities a priority? These communities help promote our two official languages across the country through their contribution to Canada's socio-economic fabric. Furthermore, pursuant to part VII of the Official Languages Act, we must take measures to enhance the vitality of these communities and assist their development, as well as to foster Canada's two official languages. By adding official language minority communities to our priorities, we are ensuring their long-term survival and vitality.
I now want to talk about the LGBTQ2 community. Our government recognizes that all Canadians have the right to live without fear of discrimination and to be fully included in all facets of Canadian society, regardless of who they love or how they identify or express their gender. This is why we committed to protecting the dignity, security, and rights of transgender and gender-diverse Canadians. Our government will prioritize the applications from organizations that create job opportunities for young people in this community. We are doing this because we recognize that this community has faced a lot of discrimination in the workplace.
Today, members of the LGBTQ still earn less than their peers. We are taking action to change that.
I would now like to talk about small businesses, which are vital to the growth of the Canadian economy. They represent 97.9% of all businesses in Canada, account for 30% of Canada's GDP on average, and play an important role in job creation.
Small businesses with no more than 50 employees are not always able to pay the full salary for a summer position. By providing financial assistance to hire young people and give them valuable work experience, we are helping these businesses as well as our youth. Young workers benefit from these professional experiences and bring many ideas and new perspectives to their workplace and their local community.
For the second year in a row, jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and information and communications technologies are included in the national priorities of the Canada summer jobs program.
We are supporting our government's vision to make Canada a global centre for innovation.
What is different this year is that we have added an additional priority for employers in these fields so that they recruit women.
We are stressing the recruitment of women because even though they have made progress in terms of labour force participation, all too often they continue to be under-represented in STEM professions.
By helping employers create job opportunities in these professions, we are helping students, especially female students, consider a career in professions that are in great demand and that will shape the future of Canada.
These priorities foster economic growth and help our middle class prosper. Young Canadians have many talents, and it is our responsibility to help them find their place in our society and contribute to our economy.
Our government knows that taxpayers' money should never be used to support organizations that seek to undermine the rights of Canadians.
We know that the opposition leader, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, has a long-standing friendship with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, an organization that actively opposes the right of women to choose what to do with their own bodies. Nine months ago, during the leadership campaign, he spoke with the centre's communications director, Jonathon Van Maren. Mr. Van Maren said that, like many of us, he knew for a long time who his top choices would be. The member for Regina—Qu'Appelle was pro-life and had the record to prove it.
The opposition leader said that he had always voted in favour of pro-life legislation, that he had always voted according to his conscience, and that he had spoken out against the fact that Henry Morgentaler was awarded the Order of Canada.
The support of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform was key to the opposition leader's victory in the leadership race. As a result, it is easy to see why the opposition leader has a direct interest in ensuring that the centre continues to use Canadian taxpayers' dollars to promote its anti-abortion agenda.
However, the government side is determined to continue to help our young people continue their education and acquire the experience they need to succeed in life.