2009-02-25 - Motion on Youth Voluntary Service
Mr. Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member on winning the lottery and having his motion presented here today. I would also like to congratulate the member on the recent addition to his family of his son Xavier. I think that's a wonderful thing, and it is something we have in common. I am hoping that being parents is not all we have in common, but I am starting to wonder.
The hon. member spoke about young people having an opportunity to serve. That is a wonderful thing, engaging the youth of our country and building on their skills and their experiences to make them the leaders of tomorrow.
He then went on to say that these young people look for opportunities to serve but find out that there is no funding for programs. The turnaround is that it actually sounds more as though they are looking for opportunities for their country to serve them.
I am just wondering if the member would like to clarify this in the context of the words of a great former U.S. president, who said, “Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country”.
Through this motion, is the member actually trying to get at a situation through which we are providing an opportunity for Canadians to support our country, or for the country to support Canadians?
Mr. Justin Trudeau:
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question indeed is a good one.
The reality, however, is that young people do not always have the opportunity to serve. Going to northern Canada to help out in a community that needs help is not something many young people can do on their own.
The idea of recognizing and valuing a service framework is such that young people would buy into a culture of service because there would be opportunities for it. About 10,000 young people a year apply to a program like Katimavik to try to serve. Unfortunately, only 1,000 of them get to serve through our national youth service program, because the funding simply is not there.
What do they do? Some of them volunteer in their communities, on and off, but many of them are in school and many of them are working in part-time jobs because they have to pay the rent or allow for their education. What we need to do is give them opportunities that are structured.