Chris in the Commons: Fighting for apprenticeships and jobs for youths

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to congratulate Canada’s Building and Construction Trades on another hugely successful Policy Conference in Ottawa this week.

I want to thank them in particular for supporting my Bill C-227, which would give tax deductions to workers for travel and accommodation expenses when they go to job sites away from their homes.

But I also hope that the government paid close attention to the Building Trades’ call for action on apprenticeship and training programs.

Two concurrent trends are unfolding. By 2017, there will be a shortfall of 317,000 skilled workers in Canada. And, according to April stats, unemployment for youth between the ages of 15 and 24 was 88% higher than the national average. Troubling as these data are, they also point to an opportunity, if only the government would act to support the skills training youths need to acquire a trade and to build a future with decent-paying jobs.

Instead of spending $13 billion on community infrastructure with no strings attached, the government could, and should, have seized the opportunity to mandate training and apprentice ratios in every contract awarded.

Sadly, the only time the Conservatives talk about youths is in the context of young offenders. Frankly, it’s a disgrace. Young Canadians deserve hope, and they deserve the opportunity to strengthen the country that their parents and grandparents have built.