THUNDER BAY -- More Northern Ontario students than ever before will have work this summer under the Canada Summer Jobs program.
MP Patty Hajdu (Lib., Thunder Bay-Superior North) announced Monday afternoon that 2,698 summer jobs have been approved for funding in 10 Northern Ontario cities with the Superior North riding, compared to the 1,204 in 2015.
The Thunder Bay—Rainy River riding has received $1.35 million in funding for 508 approved jobs.
“We think this is something to celebrate,” Hajdu said during the announcement at Roots to Harvest.
“It underpins one of our core values, which is that youth have opportunities to succeed and to contribute to their communities in a meaningful way, allowing them to develop skills as they move forward.”
Hajdu added that it can be difficult in Northern Ontario for youth to find jobs, especially summer work.
Often the summer jobs are gone quickly so this program helps provide youth with additional opportunities for summer employment in Thunder Bay.
Hajdu said this program is beneficial for the not-for-profit organizations as the cost for students is completely covered by the federal government. It’s affordable for the smaller not-for-profits that don’t have extra money to tap into.
This summer, the extra funding allowed Roots to Harvest to hire four students.
Roots of Harvest board of directors chair Dave Challen said the program allows the organization to provide a great experience for youth in the community.
“The Canada Summer Jobs grant is a terrific program that we need,” Challen said. “It’s vital to our organization as it allows us to hire a number of young people for the summer.”
Challen added that because they are a not-for-profit organization budget constraints play a large role in how many youth they can employ.
“Receiving funding to provide wages for youth is crucial,” he said. “Without the funding we wouldn’t be able to hire as many people, and that would make our program less effective in the community.”
