Federal program helps young people land summer jobs in Vaughan

Yorkregion.com
July 31, 2014
By Tim Kelly

Nearly 100 young people in Vaughan have summer jobs this year, courtesy of a federal job program announced by not one, but two cabinet ministers Tuesday.

Vaughan MP Julian Fantino, also Minister of Veterans Affairs, was joined by Minister of State (Finance) Kevin Sorenson at Earth Rangers to announce $217,000 in funding for 92 summer jobs at 40 Vaughan businesses this summer.

The Canada Summer Jobs federal program provides funding for up to 35,000 students at a cost of about $107 million annually, according to a Government of Canada news release.

“We truly do believe this is an investment Canadians make in the future of Canada through learning, through the exposure of young people (to work), especially, in order to improve the efficient use of resources,” said Fantino.

Sorenson said he hears that far too often young people have the skills, education and determination to work, but lack the experience.

He feels programs such as the Canada Summer Jobs plan offers a chance for young people to get employment that’s needed to have a chance to earn a job.

“If I can tell you how many young people come up and say, ‘I have a resume that looks awfully good’, until they really start looking for experience. I find this quite troubling because my main focus is to keep our economy not only on the right track, but to keep it growing constantly. We need young people to play an active role in society and to contribute to the economy,” Sorenson said.

“The Canada Summer Jobs plan helps students, employers and local economies, so it’s really a win-win situation.”