Interview with Bruce Hyer, MP for Thunder Bay - Superior North

In your opinion, could reforming our voting system potentially compel more young people to vote?

I think electoral reform will affect all demographics, not just young people. Having a system in place that more accurately represents the people of Canada is bound to attract greater participation from voters of all ages.

At 13.2 percent, Canada's youth unemployment rate is just under double the rate of the genreral population, and one-quarter of university graduates between 25 and 29 are currently underemployed. While most Canadians under 30 have some form of post-secondary education, nearly half work in retail, service, or clerical jobs that do not require a degree.

The federal government has responded to these issues by introducing its Youth Employment Strategy, and by continuing to support the Federal Student Work Experience Program. But the Employment Strategy primarily subsidizes low-wage summer jobs, and the Experience Program cannot keep up with student enrollment and demand from employers.

What types of policies will the Green Party pursue to address high youth unemployment and underemployment in Canada?

Remarkably, among member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada has the highest rate of individuals with post secondary education certificates but the highest proportion of people with post secondary certificates who make less than half of the median income. In other words, we have well-educated and trained individuals but too few appropriate jobs. It is especially hard to find jobs when two to four years of practical experience are required.

We need to provide incentives for employers to train workers and invest in productivity improvements for the long term. We also need to provide sufficient income support to enable workers to manage their cost of living while in training. The Green Party’s proposed Guaranteed Livable Income (plus Carbon Dividends!) will help with that. Germany’s extensive apprenticeship system and similar initiatives in the Nordic countries, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland have helped to shield these nations from the job shortages associated with the European economic crisis. Apprenticeships are integrated into formal education and students receive a wide range of vocational training in high school. On-the-job training is blended with classroom training. These countries all provide tax credits for enterprises that increase training year-over-year.

The Green Party supports adopting a requirement, as in Quebec, that businesses above a certain size invest at least 1 percent of their annual payroll in training or pay a levy of the equivalent amount. And, as in France, we could include a pay-back clause that requires employees to reimburse their employers for the cost of training if they leave the employer within a certain time period after their training is completed.

Entrepreneurship can also play a large role in our employment statistics. Small business loans and entrepreneurial incentives are part of our plan to increase youth employment. A more detailed discussion about investing in workers and workplaces can be found here.