Crisis in Youth Employment

 The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee reports having directed that the following communication (February 26, 1998) be forwarded to Council; and further that Mayor Mel Lastman and the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services be requested to submit directly to Council for consideration at its meeting to be held on April 16, 1998, a status report thereon, and on the proposed summit meeting on youth employment:

 The Toronto Community Council, on February 18, 1998, had before it a communication (February 5, 1998) from Councillor Michael Walker respecting the crisis in youth employment.

 The Toronto Community Council:

 (1)referred the following recommendations to the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee:

 (i)that the ideas and concept expressed in the communication (February 5, 1998) from Councillor Walker be endorsed in principle;

 (ii)that the urgency to the matter of youth unemployment and underemployment in Toronto be recognized; and

 (iii)that the concept of commencing a dialogue with Mayor Lastman, Councillor Walker, Councillor Chow and other interested Councillors to discuss the idea of a summit meeting on jobs for youth be endorsed.

 (2)referred the matter of the creation of a Task Force to deal with youth unemployment under the leadership of Councillor Chow to her for her comments.

 (Communication dated February 5, 1998, addressed to

the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee, from

Councillor Michael Walker)

 Over the past several years, a crisis has evolved that concerns every young person in our City, our Province, and across Canada. The rate of youth unemployment and underemployment has reached epidemic proportions and is continuing to spiral out of control.

 There are 600,000 jobless young people in Canada setting the unemployment rate for this demographic category at 16 percent. In Toronto, as indicated by the recent Toronto Transition Team Report, one half of all employed young people are in part time or temporary jobs. In my view this is an unacceptable situation.

 Past and Present governments at all levels have been relatively ineffectual in dealing with the youth unemployment issue and, until recently, have not even recognized the severity and consequences of systemic underemployment.

 Youth unemployment and underemployment is not just a Federal issue. It cannot and will not be solved by any one level of government acting alone. All levels of government have a responsibility to tackle this issue, and municipal government is an essential part of that equation. We still have the power to change things, and we have a responsibility to ensure that our City still provides real opportunities for our young people.

 To achieve this we must have citizen input, co-operation and support of the private sector. From the outset we must have partnerships of youth, business and government who are committed to developing a comprehensive strategy, in this case municipally driven, and seeing it through to resolution. We need to develop a variety of actions and initiatives on a small scale right here in Toronto, and start creating Agood jobs@ for our City=s youth. Finally, we need a schedule - a defined set of goals with a specific time frame in which to achieve them.

 By allowing this problem to fester without address, it has become increasingly broad and complex. Unless we approach the matter with an agenda and a serious commitment to keeping to it, youth unemployment and underemployment will only get worse.

 With this in mind I submit a report, entitled AThe Crisis In Youth Employment@, which attempts to identify the problem; why it has happened; and what can be done to rectify it at a municipal level. Mayor Lastman, and several Councillors, as well as myself, identified this issue during the last municipal election campaign and made a commitment to do something about it. It is time to deliver.

 I would like to begin a dialogue with the Mayor, Councillor Olivia Chow, and other interested Councillors to discuss the idea of convening a summit meeting on jobs for youth, which the Mayor referred to in his inaugural address, in the hopes of bringing this issue to the forefront. To solve this crisis we need co-operation, consensus, and commitment, and we need it now.

 The Crisis in Youth Employment

 One of my lasting impressions of last fall=s campaign leading up to the November municipal election was the widespread level of concern over the unemployment and underemployment of young people in our City. Even though this matter was rarely raised by candidates or the media during the campaign, and is not generally viewed as a municipal issue, I believe that the remarkable depth of public concern expressed to me in North Toronto is a compelling indicator of the need to now re-think our attitudes and our assistance to our youth.

 What is the Problem?

 In a phrase, youth unemployment and underemployment have reached crisis proportions. There are a staggering 600,000 jobless and underemployed young people in Canada, representing a population greater than the former City of North York. While unemployment rates have remained persistently high in recent years, they have been higher for youth than for any other working age demographic, hovering at 16 percent. A recent report of the Toronto Transition Team indicated that about half the young people that have work are in part-time or temporary jobs. That is, for those fortunate enough to find work, half face a level of underemployment that denies the full expression of skill, talent, achievement and reward.

 The result is a generation who for the first time since World War II do not expect to exceed the standard of living of their parents. The result is a generation whose horizons have been artificially lowered; whose prospects have been unnecessarily denied; and whose well-being as contributing members of society is in serious jeopardy.

 Why Has This Happened?

 The factors contributing to this situation are already well understood.

 One is corporate downsizing and cutbacks, which means fewer jobs, fewer promotion opportunities and limited seniority protection. While the short term economic value of spending restraint and debt reduction are important, they must surely be balanced by a concern for the long-term economic value of a productive and expanding workforce.

 Consider monopolies and oligopolies. Why are banks, for example, who are declaring earnings in the billions, who have Presidents and Chairpersons who make seven figure salaries and receive tens of millions of dollars in combined stock options, still able to insist that they must downsize and cut jobs in order to remain competitive? Corporations in government sanctioned monopolies, such as Canada=s banks and cable companies, are continuously increasing fees, accumulating more and more holdings and using their earnings in their own interests rather than in the interests of their communities. On one hand, these companies are benefiting from a protected status, insulated from the realities of a freely competitive marketplace. On the other hand, they insist that they cannot be subject to special regulations or controls affecting employment.

 They cannot have it both ways. Government protected sectors receive preferential treatment, and it must be repaid with preferential public benefits. I believe that one of the most important ways of doing this is through meaningful job creation for current and future generations.

 Another contributing factor is government short-sightedness.

 Over the last few years, the Provincial Government has undermined Ontario=s apprenticeship programs - an important assistance network whose removal has and will have dire consequences for youth. Under these programs, students apprentice for several years to learn a skilled trade, such as that of a plumber or electrician. Many apprenticeship initiatives have been cancelled because they were deemed too costly. Ottawa=s two-year, $440 million apprenticeship funding has expired, and it provided assistance to only 30,000 of an estimated 400,000 unemployed youth.

The Ontario Student Assistance Plan, our provincial student loan program, required that students begin repaying loans six months after graduation. This requirement, along with having to pay rent and other living expenses, often places an unreasonable burden on the new graduate, particularly in an expensive city such as Toronto.

 The ideological disposition of Queen=s Park places a higher value on private sector efficiency than it does on public sector investment. In the long run, that will represent a major strategic error, producing a new generation of cynical, disillusioned, underemployed and undervalued people. It is plain to me that this runs contrary to the commonly agreed need for human resource investment that is essential for competing and succeeding in the information age. It is equally plain to me that we are inviting new and systemic social problems. It is plain that we simply are not doing enough.

 What Can Be Done?

 On the positive side, there are small victories beginning to emerge. The recent series on youth in the Toronto Star was enlightening. The Federally-implemented Millennium Fund, a one and a half billion dollar student assistance program, is a good step in the right direction. So is the recently announced Ontario Liberal Forum on Ontario Youth. The current negotiations involving the Toronto Catholic School Board and Human Resources Development Canada towards a new youth employment program are also encouraging.

 But more must be done, and at all levels of government.

 At the municipal level, we should consider the following:

 -publicly promoting reinvestment in Ontario apprenticeship and student aid programs;

 -offering grants to create pilot employment projects;

 -encouraging or requiring large public sector suppliers to hire youth;

 -mounting pressure on government-protected sectors such as banks, trust companies and cable companies to devise and expand youth employment initiatives; and

 -bringing people together to highlight issues, find consensus and develop action plans at the local level.

 I believe that the first stop in dealing with this crisis is to listen to the experience and concerns of those affected: young people, parents, community workers, service providers, educators and business people. I invite everyone to write, fax call or e-mail me with comments and ideas that might be helpful in developing local strategies.

 I will be setting up a website on the Internet as a way of collecting and gathering intelligence and suggestions. My office will also use the website to post information and advice relating to employment, which sectors of the economy offer the most opportunity for young people; which fields offer the best prospects for advancement; which institutions offer specialized training, and any other helpful data we can assemble.

 The bottom line is that we must begin taking the issues of youth unemployment and underemployment more seriously. The well-being of an entire generation is truly at stake.