TORONTO, Aug. 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Giving young Canadians an opportunity develop their skills and gain valuable work experience will help build a stronger economy and a thriving middle class.
Today, Parliamentary Secretary Adam Vaughan, on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that up to 224 youth in Toronto will have summer job opportunities thanks to over $739,000 in Canada Summer Jobs funding. A total of 51 organizations that are making a difference in their communities have been approved to receive funding. The jobs created will allow youth to develop their skills and gain valuable work experience.
Mr. Vaughan made the announcement at the Scadding Court Community Centre, accompanied by Members of Parliament Michael Levitt (York Centre), Marco Mendicino (Eglinton–Lawrence) and Julie Dabrusin (Toronto–Danforth).
Quotes
"Our government is firmly focused on ensuring every Canadian has a fair shot as success. When young Canadians, including at-risk youth, have the skills and work experience they need to get a strong start in their careers, our middle class is stronger and our economy thrives."
– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
"Communities from across Toronto will benefit from helping at-risk youth get the experience and skills they need to get a great start for their future careers, thanks to the Canada Summer Jobs program."
– Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development (Housing and Urban Affairs) and Member of Parliament for Spadina–Fort York
"The Scadding Court Community Centre wants every young person who can work to benefit from community work experiences, in our centre or others. This grant gets us closer and closer to providing growing opportunities, particularly for low-income racialized youth to get paid above minimum wage and learn skills that are non-traditional for them—it can inspire young people to choose careers by opening doors and providing hands-on training."
– Kevin Lee, Executive Director of the Scadding Court Community Centre
"It's very important for organizations like Scadding to get these funds to hire young people. I would not have known anything about microgreens. Now I may start my own business."
– Shariff Hamid, participant in the program
Quick Facts
- Canada Summer Jobs is part of the federal government's Youth Employment Strategy (YES). Each year the Government invests more than $330 million in YES to help young people gain the skills, abilities and work experience they need to find and keep good, well-paying jobs.
- Budget 2017 will invest an additional $395.5 million over three years for YES, starting in 2017–18.
- In 2016 the federal government significantly increased its investment in the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program by allocating an additional $339 million over three years to create more summer jobs for young Canadians. As a result, in 2016 the CSJ program funded roughly 65,800 jobs, which nearly doubled the number of jobs created over previous years. This is in addition to the 330,000 jobs that were created between 2007, when the program began, and the summer of 2015.
- Since 2005, YES has helped over 820,000 young Canadians get the training and work experience they need to enter the job market.
Related Product
Associated Links
Budget 2017
Youth Employment Strategy
SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
Matt Pascuzzo, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P., Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, [email protected], 819-654-5613; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]
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