Harper Government creates summer jobs and bright futures for youth in Cumberland and Colchester counties

TRURO, NS, July 20, 2015 /CNW/ - Scott Armstrong, Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, along with the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, today announced that 169 young Canadians in Cumberland and Colchester counties are participating in meaningful summer employment through a Canada Summer Jobs investment with 132 employers. The announcement was made at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre, which has hired two students, including a lifeguard and swimming instructor.

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. The Canada Summer Jobs program has approved approximately 1,450 projects for 2015, supporting over 1,800 jobs in Nova Scotia, as well as approximately 35,000 jobs across the country. The program also helps 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 six, and parents will now receive a new benefit of $60 per month, up to $720 per year, for each child aged six 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 the Truro region, 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, as well as our significant initiatives to counter youth out-migration, is good news for people in the Truro area, especially our young people."
– Scott Armstrong, Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister of Labour

"The Canada Summer Jobs initiative gives employers an opportunity to nurture the full potential of our teens and young adults. By providing our youth the opportunities and support they need to develop into strong, confident and resilient adults we are in fact strengthening our community and shaping the future of our organization.
– Matt Moore, Rath Eastlink Community Centre General Manager

Associated Links

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

Backgrounder

The investment in support of these students will total $5,319,265 for Nova Scotia and $391,943 for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley.

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—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 Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley

Organization Name	Activity Municipality	Jobs agreed
Immanuel Baptist	Truro	1
Wynn Park Villa	Truro	1
Municipality of Colchester	Truro	2
Veterans Memorial Park	Bass River	1
Bridge Workshop	Amherst	1
The Village of Bible Hill	Bible Hill	3
Tatamagouche Centre	Tatamagouche	1
Camp Pagweak	Pugwash	2
United Way of Colchester County	Truro	1
CEIP (Cumberland Early Intervention Program)	Amherst	1
Dalhousie Agricultural Campus	Truro	1
Common Name: Autumn House	Amherst	1
North Nova Forest Owners	Wentworth	1
Colchester Community Workshops	Truro	2
VON Colchester East Hants	Truro	1
Canada Red Cross	Truro	2
Halifax Regional Community Access Point	Middle Musquodoboit	1
CC Riders Soccer Club	Truro	1
Parrsborough Shore Hist. Soc./Ottawa House Museum	Parrsboro	1
ADDA (ADDA Fundy Tides Campground)	Advocate Harbour	2
VON Cumberland Site	Amherst	1
Cobequid Lawn Bowls Club	Truro	1
East Cumberland Lodge	Pugwash	1
Village of Pugwash	Pugwash	2
District 9 Development, Arts, Festivals & Recreation Association	River Herbert	1
Dalhousie Agricultural Campus	Truro	1
Creamery Square Heritage Society	Tatamagouche	3
People First Nova Scotia	Truro	1
Moose River Gold Mine Museum Society	Moose River Gold Mines	1
The Sunset Community	Pugwash	1
Mount Traber Bible Camp	Cooks Brook	1
Colchester Historeum	Truro	1
North Shore Archives	Tatamagouche	1
Fundy Youth Soccer Club	Amherst	1
Northport  Harbour Authority	Northport	1
Halifax Parks and Recreation	Meagher's Grant	1
Debert Military History Society	Debert	1
Colchester Community Day Care	Truro	1
Millbrook Band Council	Truro	2
Spencer's Island Community Association	Spencer's Island	1
The Salvation Army	Springhill	1
CNTA (Central Nova Tourist Association)	Truro	1
Amherst Food Assistance Network	Amherst	1
IHSE (Institute for Human Services Education)	Truro	1
Minudie Tourist Association	River Hebert	1
Minudie Heritage Association	River Hebert	1
Amherst News/Citizen-Record	Amherst	1
Maggie's Place (Cumberland)	Amherst	2
Little Lambs Child Care Centre	Amherst	1
Cumberland County Museum & Archives	Amherst	1
Parrsboro Lions Arena	Parrsboro	1
Slate Youth Centre	Truro	1
Joggins Improvement Committee	Joggins	1
MVTA (Musquodoboit Valley Tourism Association)	Middle Musquodoboit	1
Wallace and Area Museum	Wallace, Cumberland Co.	2
Anne Murray Centre	Springhill	1
CareerworksNova	Truro	1
CCTS (Cumberland County Transportation Services)	Amherst	1
Pugwash & Area Community Access Centre	Pugwash	1
Stewiacke Visitor Information Centre	Stewiacke	1
Canadian Mental Health Association, Colchester East Hants Branch	Truro	1
Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition	Truro	1
Camp Evangeline	Debert	1
NSRC (North Shore Recreation Centre)	Tatamagouche	1
CIC (Cobequid Interpretive Centre)	Economy	1
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC)	Shubenacadie	2
The Clean Foundation	Truro	2
Central Nova Women's Resource Centre	Truro	1
Town of Amherst	Amherst	4
FORCE (Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy)	Parrsboro	1
CANSA	Amherst	1
Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq	Truro	1
Town of Truro	Truro	4
River Hebert Village Commission	River Hebert	1
Sunrise Country Market	Port Howe	1
Splash of Color Children's Center	Middle Musquodoboit	1
NACS (Northern AIDS Connection Society)	Truro	1
Musquodoboit Valley Bicentennial Theatre	Middle Musquodoboit	2
Near to Me Daycare	Truro	1
Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre	Brookfield	1
Joggins Fossil Institute Association	Joggins	1
Truro Food Bank	Truro	1
Northumberland Arts Council	Tatamagouche	1
Sexual Health Centre for Cumberland County	Amherst	1
Resident's Council of Gables Lodge	Amherst	1
Braeside	Middle Musquodoboit	1
Centre communautaire francophone de Truro	Truro	1
Pugwash Park Commission	Pugwash	1
Cobequid Spartans	Bible Hill	1
GOVRC Workshop	Springhill	1
Creamery Square Association	Tatamagouche	1
Scotia Pool	Bible Hill	2
Bright Beginnings	Amherst	1
Marigold Cultural Centre	Truro	1
Fédération acadienne de la  Nouvelle-Écosse	Truro	1
Cumberland County Exhibition	Oxford	1
FBC	Cooks Brook	1
Bass River Heritage Society	Bass River	1
Camp Kidston	Middle Musquodoboit	1
Tidnish Crossroads & Area Community Assoc.	Amherst	1
Town of Parrsboro	Parrsboro	2
Springhill Miners' Museum	Springhill	1
Brookfield Railway Station and Heritage Society	Brookfield	1
Heritage Models Museum	River Hebert	1
Amherst Little League Baseball	Amherst	2
North Colchester River Restoration Association	Tatamagouche	1
Ship's Company Theatre	Parrsboro	2
Age of Sail Museum	Port Greville	1
Springhill Heritage Group	Springhill	2
Rath Eastlink Community Centre	Truro	2
Le Conseil de developpement economique de la Nouvelle-Ecosse	Enfield	1
Town of Oxford	Oxford	2
Truro Boys and Girls Club	Truro	3
Chignectio Central Regional School Board	Truro	2
Centennial Villa	Amherst	1
WADA (Wallace Area Development Association)	Wallace	1
The Peoples Church	Truro	1
Willow Lodge	Tatamagouche	1
Town of Stewiacke	Stewiacke	2
Showcase Productions Society	Amherst	1
Five Islands Lighthouse Preservation Society	Lower Five Islands	2
Parents Supporting Parents Society	Truro	2
The Sunset Community	Pugwash	1
First Baptist Church Truro NS	Pugwash	1
Cumberland Restorative Justice	Amherst	1
Sunset Watch Family Campground	Brule, NS	1
Colchester S.P.C.A.	Truro	1
NSCC Cumberland Campus	Amherst	1
Scouts Canada Nova Scotia Council	Fall River	1
St. James Church of Great Village Preservation Society	Great Village	1
Parrsboro Creative	Parrsboro	1
The Municipality of the County of Cumberland	Springhill	3

Total jobs: 169

SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

Aaron Bell, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Employment and Social Development, 819-994-2482; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]; Follow us on Twitter