Harper Government creates new jobs for youth in Kenora

DRYDEN, ON, June 29, 2015 /CNW/ - The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, along with the Honourable Greg Rickford, Member of Parliament for Kenora, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, today announced that 83 young Canadians will participate in meaningful summer employment through a Canada Summer Jobs investment.

Canada Summer Jobs helps students gain the skills and experience they need to be successful, now and in the future, while earning money for the upcoming school year. In 2015, the Canada Summer Jobs program is expected to create over 11,800 jobs with 6,740 employers in Ontario, and approximately 35,000 jobs across the country, while helping employers address skills shortages.

Today's announcement is one example of what the Harper Government is doing to help Canadians. To help hard-working families, the Government has increased the Universal Child Care Benefit and the Family Tax Cut, and is making improvements to the Child Care Expenses Deduction and the Children's Fitness Tax Credit.

Quick facts

• Since 2006–2007, the Youth Employment Strategy has helped more than 611,000 young people develop skills, to the benefit of the Canadian economy.
• The Harper Government is supporting up to 3,000 internships in high-demand fields and up to 1,000 internships in small and medium-sized businesses.
• The Government is also encouraging apprenticeships and careers in the skilled trades through grants and tax credits, along with support for training programs.
• The Universal Child Care Benefit is increasing from $100 to $160 per month (totalling up to $1,920 per year) for children under the age of 6, and parents will now receive a new benefit of $60 per month (up to $720 per year) for each child aged 6 through 17.

Quotes

"Through Canada Summer Jobs, we are helping to equip young Canadians with the skills and experience they need to get jobs now and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow. By creating jobs for youth in Kenora, Canada Summer Jobs helps students, employers and our local economy. It is yet another example of how our Government is creating jobs and economic growth."

– The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development

"Today's youth are tomorrow's workforce. By investing in young people today, we are making sure they are ready to become Canada's future workers and contribute to our long-term prosperity. Our plan for jobs and growth is good news for people in the Kenora riding and throughout the North, especially our young people."

– The Honourable Greg Rickford, Member of Parliament for Kenora, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario

Associated Links

• Funding: Canada Summer Jobs
• Economic Action Plan
• Services for Youth
• Family Tax Cut and the Universal Child Care Benefit

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Backgrounder

The investment in support of these Ontario students will total almost $33 million.

Led by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in partnership with 10 other federal departments, the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada's commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace. YES helps youth between the ages of 15 and 30 get the information and gain the skills, job experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workplace. YES includes the Skills Link and Career Focus programs, as well as Summer Work Experience, which includes ESDC's Canada Summer Jobs initiative. Canada Summer Jobs creates thousands of job opportunities for students every summer.

Summer Work Experience provides wage subsidies to employers to create summer employment for secondary and post-secondary students. The Summer Work Experience program includes Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ). CSJ provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for young people aged 15 to 30 who are full-time students intending to return to their studies in the next school year. Since 2006–2007, Summer Work Experience has helped over 390,000 students and ESDC's Canada Summer Jobs has helped over 304,000 students.

Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment—including single parents, youth with disabilities, young newcomers and youth in rural and remote areas—to develop the skills and gain the experience they need to find a job or to return to school. Since 2006–2007, Skills Link has helped over 191,000 youth.

Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates transition to the labour market through paid internships and helps to provide youth with the information and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job and/or pursue advanced studies. Since 2006–2007, the Career Focus initiative has helped over 29,000 youth acquire skills needed to join the job market.

The Government of Canada is supporting up to 3,000 internships in high-demand fields and up to 1,000 internships in small and medium-sized businesses.

The Government of Canada is also helping post-secondary students finance and repay their education through loans, grants and repayment assistance helping young Canadians pursue and save for their post-secondary education and acquire the skills and training they need to succeed in the job market and in the future economy.

In addition, Economic Action Plan 2014 introduced the Canada Apprentice Loan to help apprentices registered in designated Red Seal trades with the cost of their training, and to encourage more Canadians to consider a career in the skilled trades. It is estimated that at least 26,000 apprentices per year will apply for over $100 million in loans.

To learn more about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit actionplan.gc.ca.

The Government of Canada is helping youth plan their careers, learn new skills and find jobs through enhanced online services available at youth.gc.ca.

Helping families prosper

The Government of Canada has proposed new measures to make life more affordable for Canadian families.

The Family Tax Cut is a non-refundable credit of up to $2,000 for couples with children under the age of 18, that takes effect starting with the 2014 tax year.

The Children's Fitness Tax Credit may be claimed by families whose children participated in an eligible program of physical activity in 2014. Families may be able to claim up to $1,000 per child for the cost of the program. If the child is eligible for the disability tax credit and the program costs at least $100 in registration or membership fees, families can claim an additional $500.

The Universal Child Care Benefit would increase to $160 per month for children under the age of 6, and parents may receive a new benefit of $60 per month for each eligible child aged 6 through 17. The new benefit amounts would take effect on January 1, 2015, and would begin to be reflected in monthly payments to recipients in July 2015.

The limits used to calculate the Child Care Expenses Deduction would increase by $1,000 starting in the 2015 tax year: from $7,000 to $8,000 for children under the age of 7; from $4,000 to $5,000 for children aged 7 through 16; and from $10,000 to $11,000 for children who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit.

Once fully implemented, the new family package would mean more money in the pockets of Canadian families.

Organizations receiving Canada Summer Jobs funding in the Kenora area

SOURCE Canada's Economic Action Plan