Madam Speaker, as I was saying, Benjamin is lucky because at least he has a job.
Today, we are debating the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, entitled “Youth Employment in Canada”.
Members from all parties participated in the study. The committee heard from 38 witnesses and produced 16 recommendations. However, one issue kept coming up: the urgent need for action.
The committee is right. From January to August 2025, the youth unemployment rate averaged 14% across the country, the highest level since 2012, excluding the pandemic years. More than half of unemployed youth are full-time students seeking employment, and the proportion of young job seekers who have been looking for work for more than six months has risen from 17% to 22%.
The situation continues to worsen. In September, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 19 climbed to 19.3%. Nearly one in five teenagers looking for their first paycheque could not find a job. During the same month, Quebec shed 49,400 jobs. Looking at the national picture, seven out of every 10 jobs lost in Canada were lost in Quebec. Over the past year, Quebec has lost 116,200 full-time jobs. In the retail sector, where many young people begin their careers and where many Quebeckers, including myself, started working and earned their first paycheque, there are 33,100 fewer jobs than there were a year ago.
Behind every number is a face. When a summer job is no longer available, a young person's introduction to adult life is delayed. Opportunities to build responsibility and independence disappear.
The committee heard three things that the House cannot ignore.
To begin with, first jobs are disappearing. Mr. Humbert, from the Réseau des carrefours jeunesse-emploi du Québec, told us that young people have absorbed 80% of the job losses, and when they knock on a door looking for help, thousands of young people are turned away because, ultimately, their cases do not slot into any boxes. This is the new bureaucratic reality.
Next, even those who are working can no longer make ends meet. Food Banks Canada told us that in March 2025, more than one in four food bank clients were between the ages of 12 and 30. That is our youth. More than a quarter of young people aged 18 to 24 say they are skipping meals because they cannot afford to eat. It is appalling that here, in Canada, there are people who do not have enough money to eat. When a 20-year-old who works six days a week is struggling to keep a roof over his head, the problem is not his work ethic. The problem is that the economy has failed him.
Lastly, our safety net is torn and young people are falling through. Communities in Charlevoix and on the Côte‑de‑Beaupré rely on tourism, forestry and seasonal work. The committee heard testimony about the EI spring gap. During the weeks between the end of their benefits and the start of the season, many people have no money coming in at all. In 2024, barely one in two unemployed workers qualified for EI.
I have one last statistic from economist Pierre Fortin: In 2016, we took in 25 adult newcomers per 100 young people. We are now taking in 70 newcomers per 100 young people. I have often said that newcomers are not the problem. The real problem is the plan, the broken immigration system that disregards our capacity to absorb newcomers and fails to distribute immigration across the regions. The ratio has tripled over the past nine years, yet there is no plan for jobs or housing, and young people across the country are paying the price. Montmorency—Charlevoix needs workers, but young people in big cities need jobs. Now we even have newcomers saying that they, too, are looking for work. What is the point of taking people in if we cannot provide what they need and if it is detrimental to the people who are already here and to those who were promised a bright future in Canada?
The minister's response to the report was respectful. She thanked the witnesses and listed a number of programs. She even announced a new apprenticeship bonus last month. However, it is important to understand how the Liberals talk about support. I am going to focus on the facts and what was said. On EI, the government remains committed to studying improvements. Regarding immigration, the government is supportive, in principle. When it comes to student work placements, the government does not actually support the recommendations; it “acknowledges” them.
Last month, I said here in the House that slogans do not build anything. Construction sites do. I will add today that studies do not hire anyone; companies do. When a young person in Baie-Saint‑Paul cannot find a summer job, it becomes a problem for their whole family. When young people leave Charlevoix because there are no jobs or housing, it becomes a problem for the whole region. When an entire generation from Baie‑Sainte‑Catherine to Lac‑Beauport, from Saint John to Victoria, is told to wait, study and hope, it becomes a problem for the whole country. When Parliament sees all this and responds with yet another study, that is a moral failure.
This country was built by people who did not wait around. It was built by people who pushed forward. It was built by young people, 20-year-olds, who cleared our land, laid rail, built dams on the north shore, tapped Alberta's oil sands and built arenas in every city across the country. Young people today are no different: They are not asking for charity; they just want a chance.
Here is what a Conservative government will do. Here are our proposals. The good news is that the committee has already started writing some of our recommendations. We are going to unleash the economy. We are going to lower taxes and cut red tape so that employers can hire. In fact, that is the committee's first recommendation. The government said it supports it; perhaps it is time for action. We are going to build homes where the jobs are. We are going to build homes for purchase, not just for rental, so that young people can become homeowners. We are going to let employers that build workforce housing write off 100% of their investment. There are plenty of job vacancies in Charlevoix. Unfortunately, employers cannot find anyone to fill them because there is nowhere for people to live. The committee recommended this. The Liberal government acknowledged the recommendation, but we Conservatives are going to make it a reality.
We are going to realign immigration with the jobs that are actually available. We are going to fix credential recognition so that a trained engineer is not competing with a 17-year-old to work as a dishwasher. We are going to fix training. Financial assistance for education should provide more support to young people who choose fields where there is a shortage of workers, based on real labour market data. Taxpayer dollars should be used properly and should prepare our young people for work. We need to promote blue-collar trades. We need to train 350,000 new apprentices in five years and expand the union training and innovation program. People do not need bonuses that will allegedly come some time in the future. They need support now, while the training is available, so our young people can enter the workforce. Regions like mine need an EI system that reflects how people in Montmorency—Charlevoix actually work. They do not need a temporary measure that is renewed every two years.
Before getting into politics, I spent my life at the gym. I coached hockey, mostly for young people. I learned one simple truth: A young person does not grow by sitting on the bench waiting for their turn. They grow the day someone believes in them enough to send them out onto the ice. An entire generation is sitting on the bench right now. They have done the drills. They have learned the plays. They have got their helmets on. Maybe it is time we sent them out onto the ice.
The witnesses have spoken. The committee has spoken. Now it is time for the government to take action.
To Benjamin and every other young person who gets up at the crack of dawn to build this country, I want to say that we see them and we will not make them wait. Young people do not need another study. They need a chance.
I move, seconded by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan:
That the question be now put.