Nase Novine, June 08, 1983

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By Wanda Kojich
Young Canadians face an uncertain
future. Enormous pitfalls endanger their
fervent hopes and threaten their legitimate
aspirations.
Hundreds of thousands of young men
and women are without work. Many of
them have been reduced to the lowest
levels of human existence, deprived of the
most elementary needs: adequate food,
shelter and clothing.
Over 600,000 young Canadians under 25
years of age are unemployed. This does
not include thousands of discouraged
young workers who have given up hope of
ever finding a Job. More than 200,000
additional young Canadians will swell their
ranks when high school and university
students begin their desperate search for
jobs.
A young lawyer, with a law degree and a
B.A. in history and political science, sent
220 (two hundred and twenty) resumes to
law firms and legal departments, hoping to
find a job. He received twelve replies and
only three interviews were granted. He did
not get a job.
A young woman, completing her Bache-lor
of Commerce degree this year, had
fourteen dead-en- d job interviews. Her last
encounter was for a position as a financial
analyst. She did not get a job.
A fourth-yea- r civil engineering student
filled out eleven job applications. Not one
of them resulted in a firm promise of a Job.
Young Canadians are understandably
bewildered. They find It difficult to
comprehend the vast social and economic
complexities that merge to deprive them of
the bright future they planned and worked
for.
Unemployment devastates young peop
le. It denies them of the dignity and the
creativity that originates in productive
activity. Unemployment reduces the
human being to a fragment of a man or a
woman.
Frightening statistics on suicide con-fir- n
the dreams and hopes deflowered, the
terrible waste of human life when young
people are deprived of confidence and
self esteem, when a society compels them
to abandon all hope for the future.
The suicide rate among the 15-to- 19 year
olds has Increased by over 400 per cent
(four hundred per cent) in the past fifteen
years. For every teen-ag- e suicide at least
50 other young people tried unsuccessfully
to destroy themselves.
Canadian Indians, with the highest
unemployment rate in the country, are
reported to have the highest suicide rate in
the world. The rate of self-inflict- ed
violence appears to vary directly with tha
rate of unemployment.
The Canadian Federation of Students
recently presented a report to the federal
Employment Minister Lloyd Axworthy on
the unemployment crisis among ybung
people. The minister's response was
typically negative, claiming that the fede-ral
government has already reached the
limit of job creation.
Axworthy's message was quite clear.
The government is not concerned about
young people. Don't expect the situation
to improve. Unemployment will continue
to escalate. There will be no major public
works to absorb the growing number of
uneployed workers and to provide adequa-te
student employment.
Bank of Canada Governor Gerald Bouey
recently warned the federal government
not to stimulate the economy. His mesage
was equally clear. Fight Inflation with
unemployment. Impose still greater
hardships on the poor. Deny jobs to
enough young Canadians and inflation will
be reduced to lower, more acceptable
levels.
The trade-of- f recommended by Gerald
Bouey is clearly unacceptable to young
Canadians. There are better, less costly
alternatives.
Young Canadians represent only 25 per
cent of the total labour force. Yet they
account for almost 50 per cent of the
unemployed.
The jobless rate for those In the 1 5 to 24
age group was 19.6 per cent in mid-198- 2.
About one third of those receiving unem-ployment
benefits are young people under
24 year of age.
Regional economic disparities account
for the uneven rates of unemployment
across the country. The Conference Board
of Canada predicts almost 20 per cent
unemployment in Newfoundland for 1983.
The young people of this province are
especially hard hit, with a jobless rate of
almost 45 per cent.
The need of alternative policies emeres.
from these grim statistics. Something
obviously has to be done to alleviate the
intense suffering of Canada's 2,000,000
unemployed workers and their families.
Policies that fight inflation with unem-ployment
should be abandoned. They
impose the burden of the economic crisis
on the poorest segment of Canada's
population.
The main thrust of Canada's economic
policies should now be directed toward
positive stimulation to promote a sustai-nable
recovery and to provide for young
Canadians a bright new future, free of
despair and devastating uncertainty.