Garnett Genuis

Madam Speaker, Procedure · 12 wordsI rise this evening to address the continuing, worsening youth unemployment crisis.Procedure Claims · 48 wordsThe youth unemployment rate now is at 14.3%.¹ We recently asked the finance minister about the youth unemployment crisis in this country. He would not agree in the House that we face a youth unemployment crisis, ²and he was not even able to state the youth unemployment rate.³ Procedure · 9 wordsThat is from the finance minister of this country, ProcedurePositioning · 31 wordswhich shows how asleep at the switch the government is. It has no plan to address a crisis that it will not acknowledge and does not even understand the magnitude of.Positioning Procedure · 7 wordsHowever, there is good news as well.Procedure Claims · 87 wordsThis week the human resources committee tabled its detailed report on a youth unemployment crisis study, ⁴which contains many recommendations that, actually, specifically reflect the Conservative youth jobs plan. As we have called on the government to confront this youth unemployment crisis, we have put forward a Conservative youth jobs plan to unleash the economy, to fix immigration, to fix training and to build homes where the jobs are, and now we have a unanimous report from the human resources committee that reflects these key Conservative priorities.⁵ Thanks · 20 wordsI want to congratulate the members of the human resources committee from all parties who got behind these Conservative priorities.Thanks Positioning · 56 wordsNow it is time for a government that has been asleep at the switch for too long to recognize this crisis, to talk to young people, to read the statistical reports, to know the information and to implement a real plan that reflects what Conservatives have put forward and what is contained in this all-party report.Positioning Procedure · 9 wordsI want to highlight a number of the recommendations.Procedure Claims · 38 wordsFirst, this all-party report recommends that “the Government of Canada seek to reduce taxes and red tape in order to address concerns about how the taxation and regulatory environment has limited productivity growth and held back youth employment.”⁶ Positioning · 22 wordsIt is incredible, an all-party recommendation calling on the government to respond to this Conservative priority to reduce taxes and red tape.Positioning Claims · 91 wordsRecommendation two states, “That the Government of Canada recognize the positive role that natural resource development, manufacturing, ⁷and all other sectors play in contributing to employment, and seek to valorize work in all sectors.” Recommendation three deals with recognizing the role that immigration policy failures have had in contributing to youth unemployment, and addressing them. Recommendation five calls on the government to “apply strict penalties to companies hiring illegal workers.”⁸ We have actually had cases where companies that have been punished for hiring illegal workers went on to get government subsidies.⁹ Reasoning · 17 wordsWhen we have this culture of permissiveness toward companies hiring illegal workers, it contributes to youth unemployment. Claims · 46 wordsRecommendation seven calls on the government to “celebrate the value and dignity of trades work [and] ensure that institutions providing trade skills are treated equally and fairly”.¹⁰ That responds to the fact that the government has actually removed funding for grants from students attending vocational institutions.¹¹ Procedure · 2 wordsThat is, ProcedureClaims · 23 wordsif someone is trying to pursue in-demand skills at a vocational institution, the government has cut them off from getting a student grant. Promise · 4 wordsWe would reverse that, Claims · 14 wordsand that is what is alluded to by recommendation seven in this all-party report. Positioning · 8 wordsThere are many great recommendations in this report.Positioning Claims · 21 wordsIt provides a clear blueprint for the government to follow, building on the Conservative youth jobs plan released in the fall.¹² Positioning · 5 wordsThe government is doing nothing.Positioning Claims · 5 wordsYoung people are getting desperate. Positioning · 5 wordsThe government needs a plan.Positioning Claims · 17 wordsWe now have an all-party report that follows the lead of the Conservatives with specific concrete recommendations. The question · 18 wordsIs the government prepared to implement these constructive recommendations in the 10th report of the human resources committee?¹³