“I want the government to put the committee's job recommendations into the next budget. All parties on the committee agreed on them. They include cutting taxes and red tape, matching immigration to our job needs, punishing companies that hire illegal workers, and recognizing foreign job credentials so skilled newcomers do not compete with young people for entry-level jobs.”

“Mr. Speaker, this has been an excellent debate tonight. The Liberals tried to shut down debate the first time we were discussing youth unemployment, but we have been able to resume it tonight to highlight the Conservative youth jobs plan announced a year ago, a simple plan with concrete, constructive proposals to unleash the economy, fix immigration, fix training and build homes where the jobs are. We pushed the human resources committee to do a detailed study on youth unemployment. It came up with many very good recommendations reflecting an all-party consensus very much in line with the Conservative youth jobs plan. That was work we started, that the committee continued and that received unanimous support of the committee. There are great recommendations that the government should follow through on, constructive ideas that it could put in the budget, such as reducing taxes and red tape; recognizing the positive role of natural resource development, manufacturing and other sectors; supporting the alignment of our immigration policies with the needs of the Canadian economy; and punishing companies that hire illegal workers. We heard a bit about that in question period today. There were three questions in English and two more in French asking why the government offered subsidies to companies that hired illegal workers. The government could not provide an answer. Other recommendations include working to strengthen credential recognition. This is part of fixing immigration. Talented, skilled newcomers who come to this country should be able to put their skills and their training to work rather than competing with young people for entry-level jobs. It would be a double win for our economy to be able to actually deploy newcomers at the skill level they have. This was a central priority for us in the last election, a positive priority about aligning immigration with the needs of our economy. There is much more in the 10th report. The government should adopt these constructive Conservative ideas in the next budget.”