Human Resources committee  It could be that they didn't come back and show us that they had policies around harassment and discrimination.

Human Resources committee  Mr. Chair, I'm happy to complete the answer if you wish. The next largest reason for applications being deemed not eligible was that 0.3% of applicants, 116, didn't demonstrate that they had health and safety practices, and the next largest group was 84, or 0.2%, that didn't provide us a mentoring or supervision plan.

Human Resources committee  Chair, I'd be happy to speak to the basic process. When we go through all the applications, our focus is to screen them all and rate them on the quality of the work experience that is available to the youth. We had a first wave, where members of Parliament would have received confirmation in about mid-April of successful employers.

Human Resources committee  I'd be happy to follow up offline on this specific case. I'm just speaking to the national program and how it was implemented.

Human Resources committee  I'd be happy to speak to the Canada summer jobs program for 2019, and specifically to the criteria that were applied. I think the last time we were at committee, we spoke extensively about the priorities that were established at the national and local levels, so I won't repeat that.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much, Graham. I don't have much, other than to say that it's important to use the youth digital gateway to understand what youth are seeking, whether it's a volunteer opportunity, a learning opportunity or paid employment, and how the digital gateway can help youth navigate that moment of their lives when they're figuring out what to do next.

Human Resources committee  One of the five national priorities that were established for Canada summer jobs was for employers who are providing youth an opportunity to work in the skilled trades. That would be any of the Red Seal certified trades, be it chef, carpenter, etc. When we spoke about it last, we recognized that as part of the application process, there are four objectives, and the weighting that is given in the Canada summer jobs evaluation is very clear for those.

Human Resources committee  As the minister noted, year over year—and I believe I referred to this in my testimony at the last committee—our experience had been successive increases in numbers of applications received and in numbers of jobs requested. We're still finalizing the program for summer 2019, because, of course, the applications just closed in early February, and we're frantically beavering through.

Human Resources committee  Mr. Chair, I'm happy to answer the question. In budget 2018, $15 million was set aside. It is not part of the supplementary estimates. I'll ask our chief financial officer rep to confirm that. That work, as the minister noted, is to increase the number of on-site and unannounced inspections we are doing.

Human Resources committee  I will speak to that, Mr. Chair. When we look at the program year over year, we've been recommending for MP input about eight to 12 weeks. For example, for last summer and, as noted in my earlier testimony, with the 2018 program, our average number of recommended weeks would have been eight, and after MP input, it came out at 8.1, so slightly higher.

Human Resources committee  The Canada summer jobs program does fall under the umbrella of the youth employment strategy, and there are a number of program components in that. Absolutely, as we continue to evaluate the success of our Canada summer jobs program, we'll be cross-pollinating the other elements under the youth employment strategy with our sense of what's working and what's not.

Human Resources committee  Especially in British Columbia.

Human Resources committee  Mr. Chair, in terms of the change in emphasis, the minister spoke to this quickly on Tuesday. The focus has really been around quality work experiences. I think one of the considerations is around the move from student to youth. This ensures there's a broader range, obviously, of individuals who can be supported, ensuring one of the five national priorities around under-represented youth, and that really ensures the broadest possible applicability of what is an extraordinarily popular program.

Human Resources committee  Thank you. I'd be happy to do so. As I mentioned in my earlier remarks, we surveyed employers for the first time for the 2018 program, and that was where we were very pleased to learn that almost 80% were very satisfied or satisfied. I should note that we have been surveying the students themselves—it will be the youth for the 2019 program—and last year again we chose a different way to do that.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. I'll do my best to answer it. With regard to our efforts to ensure that we're reaching our goal of continuing to increase the number of people receiving the benefits they're entitled to, we don't need to seek supplementary funding. It's part of our normal duties.