Discussion · Orders of the Day
Tamara Kronis Conservative
“Young people face the highest unemployment in 25 years, while high rents and food costs make life unaffordable. I want the House to adopt this committee report on youth jobs and follow its recommendations. The government must cut taxes and red tape, fund job placements, fix employment insurance for seasonal workers, and report back to Parliament on whether job training actually leads to real work.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time this evening. This evening, we are continuing the discussion on the jobs crisis facing our youth. Young people continue to experience Canada as a place where it is hard to find a good job and even harder to build a good life where they can have the financial security enjoyed by their parents and grandparents. Getting a first employer to take a chance on them can be very difficult. We argue monthly in the House about the latest job numbers, but there is no question that youth unemployment is up and is in fact at its highest point in more than 25 years, excluding the pandemic. We also have a 29-year low in youth workforce participation. Young people are facing a tough labour market at a time when they have never needed more income to afford a home, a family and a good life. I attended the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance’s summit last week. The 2026 economic update was so well done but so discouraging. It estimates that labour force participation among island youth aged 15 to 25 fell from 65% in 2021 to 62% in 2026. VIEA also reports that the share of islanders aged 15 to 25 fell by about 4% between 2016 and 2024, while the share over 65 grew by about the same amount. Future growth will depend on generating more value per worker through higher productivity. Those figures cannot tell us what any individual young person is doing. There was an excellent panel on youth employment during the VIEA state of the island economic summit in Nanaimo last week, and at it, the three panellists did their absolute best to make light of the situation. One quipped, “Who said being a stay-at-home 25-year-old isn’t a career?” Another pointed out that it is pretty hard not to take every chance possible to engage in the workforce, given the cost of everything. The third panellist came to Canada from a country that he described as unsafe and impoverished and noticed that these days, “Canada sometimes feels like home.” When I listened to these young people trying to make light of their situation, it really impacted me, because these days, when I ask young people what they want to do for a career, an answer I now get frequently is “whatever makes the most money”. Young workers tell me that they cannot wait for an ideal job or a stable schedule. They need paid work now because they need it to cover rent. They need it to cover transportation costs to get to work, and they need to do all of that before they figure out how to eat. This morning at committee, one of our local food bank people came to talk to committee about the increase in food bank use in our region. It is so distressing to hear of the increase in the number of young people needing to use food banks. It is a direct result of how difficult it is to find the kind of work that will pay for rent and transportation and still leave enough for food. The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board reported a benchmark price of $798,400 for a single-family home in Nanaimo in September 2026, requiring a household income in the $165,000 to $200,000 range for it to be affordable. For most young people, that number is so high that it is virtually meaningless. The average rent for a studio apartment in Nanaimo as of October 26 is between $1,500 and $1,700. Average rent for a basement apartment in Ladysmith is running over $1,350 a month. That rent is considered affordable at a salary range between about $55,000 and $68,000 a year. That is hardly an entry-level job these days. Conservatives are trying to be constructive. To that end, we proposed the Conservative youth jobs plan, which includes a recommendation to build homes where the training and jobs are. Workers need housing near jobs, especially given the high transportation and fuel costs, and we need to make sure that those homes are affordable. I am pleased to see that the report we are discussing here today enshrines several of the concepts in our Conservative job plan in its formal recommendations, recognizing the need for stable funding for student workplace programs and more funded placements for young people facing financial barriers or living in regions with high youth unemployment. Funded placements can help employers assess a new worker and also let that new worker test whether a career is right for them. The report also recommends reducing tax and regulatory barriers to job creation and recognizing work across sectors, including in natural resources and manufacturing. VIEA’s economic update counts about 40,000 people employed in construction and about 18,000 in value-added manufacturing on the island. These are employment counts, not vacancies. What they show, though, is why training should connect to industries already employing people in our region. We call on the government to reduce both taxes and red tape to allow for productivity growth, which we believe will in turn help with youth unemployment. We need a climate where there is opportunity for people to start and grow a business, one that includes paid entry-level trades placements for young people, including those having trouble getting their first opportunity. We should measure whether the government’s announcements in this area lead to actual apprenticeships or whether they lead to ghost jobs, false opportunities and dead ends. The government’s own data validates these fears. Last spring’s economic update reported that more than 100,000 new apprentices registered in 2024, but only about 34,000 completed an apprenticeship. These are different cohorts, but the numbers highlight the need for registration targets to be matched with completion and employment results so that we can know whether these programs are effective. The committee recommends judging training programs by their effectiveness and shifting money away from programs that are not preparing young people for work. This would help Parliament see whether participants finish training and move into jobs, if the report is adopted and turned into real accountability. An apprentice may have to leave paid work for blocks of classroom training, to care for a relative or for other reasons. We need to recognize the dignity and value of all work and a firm respect for all sectors of the economy. The report recommends reviewing income support and adapting employment insurance to fit the way that many young people work today, including when they have to piece together shifts across employers or rely on seasonal work. That would fit Vancouver Island very well, where tourism and construction follow the seasons. Someone trying to finish an apprenticeship should be able to manage the weeks when the paycheques stop. The report also asks the government to consider youth employment opportunities when setting immigration levels, with attention to entry-level openings and affordability. Why we need to legislate that the government needs to do workplace planning is beyond me, but here we are. Young people are as diverse as Canada. The 15-to-24 age group includes full-time students looking for summer work and young people who have left school and need a full-time job. A program that works for one will not necessarily work for another, which is why we need a variety of programs and a thoughtful approach to this work. In addition, young people should get the chance to help shape these employment programs through meaningful consultations, and the results should be reported both by region and by the circumstances that affect access to that work. This is an issue that needs continuous monitoring. Parliament should receive regular reports on the share of young participants who complete training and remain employed in their field a year later. Parliament should pay attention to rates of youth unemployment, and we should be speaking about this topic far more in the House. That would show our youth whether the government’s trade target is becoming a real route into work. That is what we need at this time. We owe it to youth in Nanaimo—Ladysmith and across Canada to ensure that training can lead to a job that makes it possible to stay in our communities and that makes it possible to build a life that can include a home, a family and all of the opportunities we had.”
Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time this evening. This evening, we are continuing the discussion on the jobs crisis facing our youth. Young people continue to experience Canada as a place where it is hard to find a good job and even harder to build a good life where they can have the financial security enjoyed by their parents and grandparents. Getting a first employer to take a chance on them can be very difficult. We argue monthly in the House about the latest job numbers, but there is no question that youth unemployment is up and is in fact at its highest point in more than 25 years, excluding the pandemic. We also have a 29-year low in youth workforce participation. Young people are facing a tough labour market at a time when they have never needed more income to afford a home, a family and a good life. I attended the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance’s summit last week. The 2026 economic update was so well done but so discouraging. It estimates that labour force participation among island youth aged 15 to 25 fell from 65% in 2021 to 62% in 2026. VIEA also reports that the share of islanders aged 15 to 25 fell by about 4% between 2016 and 2024, while the share over 65 grew by about the same amount. Future growth will depend on generating more value per worker through higher productivity. Those figures cannot tell us what any individual young person is doing. There was an excellent panel on youth employment during the VIEA state of the island economic summit in Nanaimo last week, and at it, the three panellists did their absolute best to make light of the situation. One quipped, “Who said being a stay-at-home 25-year-old isn’t a career?” Another pointed out that it is pretty hard not to take every chance possible to engage in the workforce, given the cost of everything. The third panellist came to Canada from a country that he described as unsafe and impoverished and noticed that these days, “Canada sometimes feels like home.” When I listened to these young people trying to make light of their situation, it really impacted me, because these days, when I ask young people what they want to do for a career, an answer I now get frequently is “whatever makes the most money”. Young workers tell me that they cannot wait for an ideal job or a stable schedule. They need paid work now because they need it to cover rent. They need it to cover transportation costs to get to work, and they need to do all of that before they figure out how to eat. This morning at committee, one of our local food bank people came to talk to committee about the increase in food bank use in our region. It is so distressing to hear of the increase in the number of young people needing to use food banks. It is a direct result of how difficult it is to find the kind of work that will pay for rent and transportation and still leave enough for food. The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board reported a benchmark price of $798,400 for a single-family home in Nanaimo in September 2026, requiring a household income in the $165,000 to $200,000 range for it to be affordable. For most young people, that number is so high that it is virtually meaningless. The average rent for a studio apartment in Nanaimo as of October 26 is between $1,500 and $1,700. Average rent for a basement apartment in Ladysmith is running over $1,350 a month. That rent is considered affordable at a salary range between about $55,000 and $68,000 a year. That is hardly an entry-level job these days. Conservatives are trying to be constructive. To that end, we proposed the Conservative youth jobs plan, which includes a recommendation to build homes where the training and jobs are. Workers need housing near jobs, especially given the high transportation and fuel costs, and we need to make sure that those homes are affordable. I am pleased to see that the report we are discussing here today enshrines several of the concepts in our Conservative job plan in its formal recommendations, recognizing the need for stable funding for student workplace programs and more funded placements for young people facing financial barriers or living in regions with high youth unemployment. Funded placements can help employers assess a new worker and also let that new worker test whether a career is right for them. The report also recommends reducing tax and regulatory barriers to job creation and recognizing work across sectors, including in natural resources and manufacturing. VIEA’s economic update counts about 40,000 people employed in construction and about 18,000 in value-added manufacturing on the island. These are employment counts, not vacancies. What they show, though, is why training should connect to industries already employing people in our region. We call on the government to reduce both taxes and red tape to allow for productivity growth, which we believe will in turn help with youth unemployment. We need a climate where there is opportunity for people to start and grow a business, one that includes paid entry-level trades placements for young people, including those having trouble getting their first opportunity. We should measure whether the government’s announcements in this area lead to actual apprenticeships or whether they lead to ghost jobs, false opportunities and dead ends. The government’s own data validates these fears. Last spring’s economic update reported that more than 100,000 new apprentices registered in 2024, but only about 34,000 completed an apprenticeship. These are different cohorts, but the numbers highlight the need for registration targets to be matched with completion and employment results so that we can know whether these programs are effective. The committee recommends judging training programs by their effectiveness and shifting money away from programs that are not preparing young people for work. This would help Parliament see whether participants finish training and move into jobs, if the report is adopted and turned into real accountability. An apprentice may have to leave paid work for blocks of classroom training, to care for a relative or for other reasons. We need to recognize the dignity and value of all work and a firm respect for all sectors of the economy. The report recommends reviewing income support and adapting employment insurance to fit the way that many young people work today, including when they have to piece together shifts across employers or rely on seasonal work. That would fit Vancouver Island very well, where tourism and construction follow the seasons. Someone trying to finish an apprenticeship should be able to manage the weeks when the paycheques stop. The report also asks the government to consider youth employment opportunities when setting immigration levels, with attention to entry-level openings and affordability. Why we need to legislate that the government needs to do workplace planning is beyond me, but here we are. Young people are as diverse as Canada. The 15-to-24 age group includes full-time students looking for summer work and young people who have left school and need a full-time job. A program that works for one will not necessarily work for another, which is why we need a variety of programs and a thoughtful approach to this work. In addition, young people should get the chance to help shape these employment programs through meaningful consultations, and the results should be reported both by region and by the circumstances that affect access to that work. This is an issue that needs continuous monitoring. Parliament should receive regular reports on the share of young participants who complete training and remain employed in their field a year later. Parliament should pay attention to rates of youth unemployment, and we should be speaking about this topic far more in the House. That would show our youth whether the government’s trade target is becoming a real route into work. That is what we need at this time. We owe it to youth in Nanaimo—Ladysmith and across Canada to ensure that training can lead to a job that makes it possible to stay in our communities and that makes it possible to build a life that can include a home, a family and all of the opportunities we had.