“I agree with my colleague. The Liberals made false promises to young people, and now those young people are worse off. That is why so many of them are joining the Conservatives.”

“Mr. Speaker, I agree wholeheartedly with my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. I am so grateful he has been such a stalwart voice on this file, travelling the country and doing the work the Liberal government should be doing to engage these people in the process. If the Liberals truly believe that they have done right by the country’s young people, they need to look at how many of those people have joined the Conservatives because they were sold a bill of goods by the Liberal government. They were sold hope and promised the moon, and now they are seeing that reality is catching up, and they are far worse off than they were led to believe they would be.”

“A first job helps young people learn skills and work toward buying a home and starting a family. Today's job problems are pushing those milestones further away. I want to hear the member's thoughts on this.”

“Mr. Speaker, just to pick up on an earlier part of the discussion as well, the member and other members have spoken about their first job. The first job that young people get is critically important for developing skills, experiencing what they can contribute to the world and also starting them on that ladder to building a family, to being able to own a home, etc. These milestones are getting pushed further and further away because of these job problems. I wonder if the member has a comment on that.”

“Employers tell me they cannot find young people with experience because young people do not have chances to build skills. This hurts both employers and workers.”

“Mr. Speaker, I do not spend time just speaking to workers, I also speak to employers. One of the issues they have identified is that they cannot find young people with experience because young people have not been given the opportunities to develop those skills. We are seeing long-term consequences here that are going to continue to hurt employers and potential employees alike.”

“I want the House to approve this committee report and use its 16 recommendations. Young Canadians are losing jobs and struggling to find work. High taxes, too much paperwork, and blocked resource projects are hurting our economy. We also need to recognize foreign work credentials faster so newcomers do not have to compete with young people for entry-level jobs.”

“Mr. Speaker, this evening I rise to discuss the issue of youth unemployment, an issue that I know affects many Edmontonians and far more Canadians. I would first like to thank all members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities for their hard work over seven meetings to draft this 10th report. Canada has historically been a country where people build, discover and invest. However, for the last decade, Canada has experienced the opposite. More often, corporations are taking capital investment south of our border and students from our top universities are leaving to work on projects outside the country. Canada needs to do better. As parliamentarians, we must take an active role in shaping the environment for youth to succeed economically. That does not mean planning an economy for them. Rather, it means developing smart, pointed policy aimed at fixing a broken system of brain drain and a major lack of economic opportunities. As they say, the first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging that there is one. The 16 recommendations set forward by this report are an important start and, therefore, should be concurred in by the government. In Edmonton Southeast, I am hearing more often from parents about their children having difficulty being able to find work, and the data supports these parental concerns. In August of this year, Canada lost 42,000 jobs, including 19,000 jobs for young Canadians aged 15 to 24. Similarly, in September 2026, Canada lost another 68,000 jobs, with youth accounting for 48,000 of those lost positions. In just two months, youth employment declined by 67,000 jobs. That is around 61% of the total decline in employment. These numbers are concerning and call for action. Conservatives and my hon. colleague from Sherwood Park, Alberta, have offered real solutions. Our four-point plan includes unleashing the economy, fixing training, fixing the system where high-skilled newcomers compete for entry-level jobs and building homes where the work is necessary to create employment opportunities for youth. Conservatives have repeatedly called on the Liberal government to reduce red tape and taxes so that Canada can return to a simple but effective regulatory environment that supports the creation and growth of youth employment. Multiple witnesses cited in this report conclude that heavy taxation limits the capacity to invest in new technology and expansion. In fact, one witness was even cited as saying that Canada is no longer an attractive place to start a career or business due to our sluggish economic environment. We cannot accept this assertion as fact. We must deliver better for our youth. Employers must be encouraged to hire, build and keep workers in Canada. Youth are most affected by changing market forces, so entrepreneurs must see Canada as a reliable and predictable market to grow their business. Now, more than ever before, companies can move between countries. It is time for the Liberal government to address these issues by creating a landscape that attracts and retains those companies rather than letting them go somewhere more business-friendly. Furthermore, this report explicitly calls upon the government to acknowledge the importance that resource development and manufacturing play in our economy. The Liberal government has actively worked to block major resource projects in this country. Announcements are nothing but announcements, and more paperwork does not get Canada back on track. We need faster approvals, shorter timelines and a greater acknowledgement of the people who build our country. Tradespeople are the backbone of Canada. We cannot build our roads and our homes without them. We need a Canada where skilled trades work is celebrated and honoured. In our economy, these jobs can be some of the highest-paying and most rewarding for youth. There needs to be a shift so the trades are neither looked down upon nor compared to a university education. Each is a unique track that offers positive outcomes. The pipefitter or electrician needs a clear pathway from training to apprenticeship and certification, and they must feel that their work is worthwhile as a career. The final point I want to mention is the certification of immigrants in Canada. Like many members of the House, I was not born in Canada. However, I always saw Canada as a country of hope, opportunity and prosperity. When I arrived as a young man, I was lucky to be a trained lawyer, and the pathways to credential transfer were clear. This is not the case for most jobs, which is an unfortunate reality that has held Canada back for decades. The HUMA report finds that this holdup is forcing new Canadians to compete with youth for entry-level jobs. The 2021 census data showed that 25.8% of immigrants with foreign degrees were working in jobs requiring, at most, a high school diploma. This stat reflects Canada’s broader productivity problem. Our economy loses out on increased tax revenues from high-wage jobs, and entry-level jobs become unnecessarily competitive for young Canadians. This scenario is all too common and, frankly, benefits no one. Conservatives have been asking for greater pathways for skilled immigrants to gain accreditation and equivalency training. A new framework would benefit the economy as a whole. It is not a secret that our youth are struggling. Youth without jobs means more lineups at food banks. In March 2026, Food Banks Canada reported that 33% of visitors were under the age of 18. This is more than a 6% increase from the same time a year before. Young Canadians should not have to leave Canada to find opportunity because our economy fails to deliver. The recommendations set out by this 10th report provides a starting point for addressing these challenges, from reducing barriers to employment to strengthening apprenticeship pathways and improving credential recognition. Concurrence in this report is an opportunity for Parliament to acknowledge the seriousness of youth unemployment and demand meaningful action. The government must now turn these recommendations into results. Young Canadians are waiting.”

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“The government cancelled trade completion grants that were created under Prime Minister Harper. Then they brought them back under a new name. The government has no new ideas and is just renaming old Conservative programs instead of doing real work.”

“Mr. Speaker. I have to come back to the issue of completion grants for the trades. Completion grants were started by Prime Minister Harper. It was a very successful policy and strongly supported. The Minister of Jobs and Families came to committee and said that completion grants were not working. It is on the record. The Minister of Jobs and Families said they were not working. The government cancelled completion grants, then it relaunched them under a new name. It is like the Liberals said, “We came up with this great idea. They are called completion grants, which had been cancelled for a few months.” The minister assured us at committee that we should not worry, as they were going to connect the funding to ensure that nobody lost out in the intervening period. These are the facts. The government has no new ideas. It is repeatedly celebrating things that have existed in this country for decades, and its approach is failing. It is more announcements, and the government is cancelling and then renaming old Conservative programs. There is work to do. When will the government get with the program and actually do the work that needs to be done?”

“The government copies our ideas, but it cuts them in half and does not run them properly. If the government is going to use our programs, it should run them fully so Canadians and young people can get well-paying jobs.”

“Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly agree with the member’s analysis of the situation right now. The government tries to use our ideas, but then all of a sudden it cuts half of them or applies them half-heartedly. If the government has to apply our programs, let us be honest about it and apply them, so Canadians can have good paying jobs and earn good cheques, and so youth can also be a productive part of society and have well-paying jobs.”

“The Liberals have been in power for 11 years. They still talk about the Harper government because they have no real numbers to show for their own time in office.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is really mind-boggling that, after 11 years of government, the member still has to go back to the Harper era or the Harper government. That is because they do not have any concrete figures to rely upon for what they have done in their 11 years.”

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“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.”