University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 1 November 1996

Finance Minister says youth unemployment a 'time bomb' for Canadian society; addresses MBA students

Universities may be included in second infrastructure program-Paul Martin

By Michael Robb

Canadian society's failure to provide entry-level jobs for youth is a time bomb for the future, says Finance Minister Paul Martin.

"We've got to focus on youth unemployment," Martin told MBA students, 17 October. "It won't be solved by quick fixes. It will only be solved if the government sets the context for job creation, by essentially allowing the economy to re-invent itself in those areas where people will get jobs.

"There is a shortage today in most skilled trades in this country; there is a shortage in almost all areas of the emerging economy. And at the same time, there is a huge segment of our society which does not have the skills to compete in that emerging society. Yet our training systems are simply deficient, and our on-the-job training is not up to the task."

Martin suggested if a second infrastructure program is created by the federal government, it would benefit universities. "If there is to be a second infrastructure program, the focus ought to be on productivity, and that can certainly involve a road, or a port. But what we have said is that the definition should be substantially enlarged to include the new economy and higher technology.

"We have said that there would have to be a substantial segment for universities. One of the things that's very clear is that while there's an enormous amount of very good basic research going on at universities, the ability to commercialize it, to take it to market, is really being hamstrung by a lack of money and facilities. So, in the context of the overall job plan we've been talking about, we really do believe that university infrastructure in that area ought to be included."

The best way to deal with the deficit is to get Canadians working, he said. That way, they're paying taxes and they're not taking money out of the system.

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