. document to which | PAGE 4 February 14, 1985 Tories cut summer jobs OTTAWA [CUP] — The fed- eral government is drawing up a business oriented sum- mer job program for students that will create 20,000 fewer jobs and cost $61 million less than a similar program did last year, a government docu- ment reveals. The document’s details, re- leased by NDP MP Howard McCurdy in the House of Commons Jan. 28, indicate the Tories plan to provide 65,000 summer jobs through a $140..-million program. Mc- Curdy obtained the document from the Employment and Immigration Union. The Liberal government created nearly 86,000 summer jobs for students last year through its $201 million Sum- mer Canada Works, the coun- try’s largest student job crea- tion program. Summer Can- ada Works was virtually elim- inated when the Tories an- nounced their Nov. 8, 1984 economic statement. Flora MacDonald, employ- ment and immigration min- ister, denied in the House Jan. 28 that she has approved the document, which contain- ed a memo saying she had done so. She also refused to admit the government is “slashing the amount of money and number of jobs allocated to students, and left the House without stopping to answer reporters’ questions. A day later, however, she said she had approved the document for ‘‘further consid- eration’’ along with other proposals and would be an- nouncing a replacement for Summer Canada Works soon. Said McCurdy, the NDP post-secondary education and youth critic: ‘‘Yesterday in the House the minister denied that she has seen and agreed to a program called (Summer Experience and _ Learning Fund)...High level officials in the minister’s own depart- ment have now confirmed the legitimacy of the document which | said yesterday she had seen.’’ ‘Someone surely is mis- leading the public. Someone surely is not telling the truth’’ he said. Replied MacDonald: “When | finally had a chance to see the document...| re- cognized it as a preliminary had agreed there should be given further consideration. . (that) is on-going and out of it will _ come the decisions which gov- ern the Canada student sum- mer employment program.” The Summer Experience and Learning Fund, as de- scribed in the document, is a radical departure from Sum- mer Canada Works. Out of the program’s $140 million, $125 million is new money and $15 million will be avail- able if needed. The government expects federal departments and a- gencies to find money from their constrained budgets to fund another 5,000 jobs and will challenge the private sec- tor to create additional open- ings. It hopes these two measures will add to the 65,000 jobs slated for stu- dents. About $108 million will take the form of wage subsidies under the banner of Incent- ives for Career Employment. The government plans to give priority to those private, mun- icipal and non-profit groups which provide jobs linked to students’ education. and ca- reer plans. The government will subsi- dize private sector groups for up to 50 percent of students’ wages with a maximum of $3 an hour and non-profit groups for up to 100 percent. This part of the program resem- bles a similar segment of Summer Canada Works called Summer Career Access, to which the Liberals gave $31.9 million last year. The document says $16 million will be allocated for Canada Employment Centres for Students, comparable to the Liberals’ $15.9 million, and $14.2 million for jobs and training in federal depart- ments and agencies. These include training in cadet and reserve programs as well as keeping the peace and law enforcement. The government failed to consult with the Canadian Federation of Students, Can- ada’s national student lobby group, when it drew up the document. It sent a letter to CFS chair Beth Olley saying the employment and immigra- tion minister did not have time to speak to the feder- ation about developing plans for a suitable student summer employment program. After some pressure in the House from NDP members about failing to meet with student representatives, how- ever, officials from the min- ister’s office phoned the CFS national office January 29 to arrange a meeting. Olley, who was in Newfoundland for a founding conference of a provincial student organizat- ion there, was not available to arrange a time. MacDonald’s press secre- tary Justin de Beaucamp said the minister wants to meet with CFS _ representatives soon but refused to say whe- ther the meeting would take place before or after the program’s impending an- nouncement. “‘An attempt on our part is being made to meet with them.’’ Olley, contacted in St. John’s, said she is happy the minister has finally agreed to meet with the federation but skeptical of the Tories’ com- mittment to student job crea- tion. She said CFS wants at least as many jobs to be created as last year, if not more. -Olley predicted student un- employment would reach last year’s levels, which peaked in ae WHo NEEDS £7? Ne 7 SUMMER TOBS?... WORK 7. HARIHAR! HARI July when 180,000 students planning to return to school were without work. The rate was 14.9 percent. The youth unemployment rate in Dec- ember for those between the ages of 15 and 24 hovered around 17 percent. “It’s unfortunate the min- ister did not plan to meet with us sooner. CFS has a valuable input to give because we know what the concerns of students are.’’ Along with opposition MPs, Olley is worried that the Tories’ delay in announcing the program will create prob- lems for students trying to make plans to finance their education and community groups wanting to hire stu- dents for the summer. Olley joined McCurdy in criticizing the employment and immigration minister for failing to release the pro- gram’s details earlier, saying many potential employers will not participate in the program now because they do not have the time or the money to prepare an application. | Skelly visits campus Bob Skelly, leader of the B.C. New Democratic Party will be at Douglas College, Thursday, February 28 for a two hour talk on the future of the province. British Columbia — The Future? will be the first ever event sponsored by the Doug- las College Speakers Forum, and will give members of the college and community an opportunity to ask the out- spoken politician his views on current provincial politics. Skelly will also spend the day meeting with officials of the college administration, student society, faculty, and staff. The open forum with Skelly will be held in Room 2203 at 12:00 noon, Thursday, Feb- ruary 28 at the New West- minster campus of Douglas College, 700 Royal Avenue. The Speakers Forum has also scheduled another event for March 21, when Dr. Sandy (A.J.) Dawson of Simon Fra- ser University speaks on Edu- cation and Technology through the 21st Century. | OOP. | It was stated in the last issue of the Other Press that education was the third larg- est expenditure in the fiscal periods of 1964/1965 and 1984/1985. This should have read second. The Other Press regrets any inconvenience this may have caused.