Question Period Note: YOUTH HIT HARD BY COVID-19 PANDEMIC

• Youth in Canada are one of our most important resources. This generation of youth are more diverse, socially engaged, and educated than ever before.

• Youth were hardest hit during the pandemic, experiencing more job losses than any other age group. Our Government took swift action to address these severe impacts on youth, to ensure they could gain the education, skills and work experience they need.

• The Government’s response to COVID represents the largest ever investment in youth—totaling $13.1 billion over six years, including investments in the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, Canada Summer Jobs and the Student Work Placement programs.

• Supports such as wage subsidies helped youth in developing skills, gain valuable work experiences and build new networks for future employment.

• The Government of Canada also announced an investment of over $4.6 billion in supports to improve access to post-secondary education. This includes doubling the Canada Student Grants, expanding access to supports for students with disabilities, and increasing the income threshold for loan repayment.

The Government of Canada has made investments in youth skills and employment, including:
The Student Work Placement Program
o The Program helps to ensure post-secondary students are developing the work-ready skills required to improve their transition to employment upon graduation. It connects students who need relevant work experience to employers in the Canadian economy looking to benefit from the talent, new ideas and hard work that young people can bring to the workplace.
o For thousands of Canadian college, university, polytechnic, and CEGEP students, formal co-op programs help to bring together academic learning and applied work experience.
o These work placements can also include internships, mentorship programs or applied research projects.
o Budget 2021 announced an additional $239.8M to extend the COVID-19 program flexibilities and temporary measures introduced in 2020 into the 2021-2022 fiscal year.  This responds to the ongoing impact of the pandemic on student hiring, and the continuing need for additional supports. This funding includes:
o $51.8 million to maintain an increased temporary wage subsidy of 75% on all existing work placements in 2021-2022 supported by the Program.
o An investment of $187.5 million will help support the creation of up to 50,000 paid work-integrated learning opportunities in 2021-2022 through the Student Work Placement Program.
Youth Employment and Skills Strategy
o The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) is a horizontal Government of Canada initiative led by ESDC and delivered in collaboration with 10 other federal departments, agencies and Crown Corporations. The Strategy includes two program streams: (1) YESS Program that helps youth (aged 15-30) develop their skills and transition to meaningful employment; and (2) Canada Summer Jobs, that provides wage subsidies to support summer work experiences.
o The overall Strategy aims to provide a range of flexible services and supports tailored to each individual’s needs to help overcome possible barriers and better prepare young Canadians for work and develop their skills.
o Budget 2021: $109.3M for 2022-2023 to support an additional 7,000 YESS Program youth; and $371.8M for CSJ to support a total of 100,000 job placements in 2022-23.
o 2020 Fall Economic Statement: $575.3M for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 to support approximately 45,300 additional job placements through YESS Program; and $447.5M in additional CSJ funding to support 120,000 placements in 2021-2022.
Canada Student Financial Assistance Program
Budget 2021 built upon the investments made during the pandemic to support students including $3 billion provided to over 700,000 students and recent graduates in Canada Emergency Benefit and six-months interest free moratorium on Canada Student Loan repayment:
• Waiver of interest accrual on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans until March 31, 2023.
o Doubled all Canada Student Grants until July 31, 2023.
o Extended supports for adult learners and made permanent the flexibility to use current year income to determine eligibility for student aid.
o Expanded eligibility for disability supports to recipients whose disabilities are persistent or prolonged (starting in 2022-23).
o Increasing the threshold for loan repayment, so that no borrower will have to begin repaying their loans until they are making at least $40,000 and  reduced the cap on monthly student loan repayment from 20 per cent of household income to 10 per cent.

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