Liberal leader Justin Trudeau may be charming, charismatic, and nice on the eyes, but it’s unclear whether he has any real plans for students.
During Trudeau’s recent visit to the Whitby campus, the question of job erosion came up multiple times.
Trudeau’s answer was education.
“Seven out of ten future jobs are going to require some form of post-secondary education,” he told the crowd.
But Trudeau never offered any specifics. He said he wants Canadians to be able to access education and that higher education is the key to prosperity.
According to the Liberal website, “post-secondary is getting out of reach.” The party acknowledges the fact people are going into debt for school, but it doesn’t say what it will do about it, just that skills learned in university and college are what is going to help Canada grow.
During the Q&A at the college, Trudeau said he wants governments to work with institutions such as Durham, but didn’t specify if that meant more funding, lowering tuition, or creating more programs to help people easily transition into post-secondary.
Trudeau gave run-around answers and didn’t offer any examples.
“We need to make sure there are paths to employment,” said Trudeau, not specifying what those plans would be.
The Liberals are quick to criticize the Conservatives for not doing much to help Canadians, but they don’t have a real answer to what they are going to do to help either.
Students are spending at least two years of their lives taking on debt, and studying every night only to not be assured they will get a career.
Joe Oliver, the federal finance minister, recently announced plans to reduce small business employment insurance premiums by 15 per cent to help create jobs. But according to some economists, this won’t help Canadian companies because of the fragile economy, and lack of demand by consumers.
The jobs created from these premiums are also often part-time or temporary.
It would not make for long-term employment or careers that students wish to pursue after their years of study.
Trudeau says companies will instead be influenced to lay off workers to stay within the budget limits needed to receive these tax credits.
According to Trudeau, the Conservatives are “giving tax breaks to companies who downsize.”
But Oliver said almost 90 per cent of companies paying the premium will receive the benefit.
If this is true, then the plan is doing its job, and Canadians have nothing to worry about.
But Trudeau said he has a different plan.
It would see the Liberals give small businesses $1,300 for every new job they create.
This plan isn’t much different from the Conservatives, except for the amount of money given.
What good is creating a job no one can afford to get?
If Trudeau believes education is the future, he should be focused on lowering tuition or giving students a tax break and not companies.
Trudeau should stop arguing with the Conservatives, and come up with his own ideas to help students receive the education and career they work so hard to get.
Trudeau thinks visiting schools, and trying to get students involved in politics will help the voter turnout for the young crowd, but the only way to get us to care is to have a legitimate plan.
A point on his platform on the Liberal website is affordable education and creation of jobs. He says he has a plan for jobs, now where is the plan for students?
