Young people are disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of coronavirus, several reports have found.
The UN has cautioned that the high rate of unemployment among young adults could mean “a lot of young people are going to be left behind”.
In the US, about a quarter of people between 16-25 were unemployed in May – which was about double the unemployment rate of other age groups.
It’s a myth that all young adults are supported by their parents, or only work part time. According to Statistics Canada, of the roughly 500,000 people between the ages of 15-24 who lost their jobs in April, about half were working full-time.
The BBC spoke with four young adults who are looking for work – this is what they say it’s like to be in your 20s and unemployed during the pandemic.
Name: Ross Mortimer
Age: 26
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Previous occupation: Opera singer, server
What are you doing now? I’ve started babysitting. I go over in the morning four times a week. I’m trying to keep up with music as well, I had to rent a keyboard so I could practise in the house.
I’m just trying to enjoy the summer. With music there’s probably nothing that will make money until January, and I just have to accept that.
How are you getting by? Before the pandemic, I was making at least twice as much money a month but my income varied. Now I know exactly how much money I’m going to have a month because I receive the government coronavirus stipend, and I can budget. I’m really afraid for September though, when my student loans will start up again (they were paused because of coronavirus).
How’s the job search going? There’s no guarantee of any work next year at the Canadian Opera Company (COC). And they cancelled the fall – two out of six shows that season – with the possibility of the whole next season not happening. I’m kind of nervous to go back to restaurants right now because I think I’m not going to be able to find a job until they open inside, and then it’s working inside with lots of exposure to people.
What are your fears for the future? My main goal is music. So the restaurant, while I’m sad I’ve lost out of that income stream, I’m not overly concerned. But with music, that industry could be permanently affected. My biggest fear is probably arts organisations shutting down permanently. I just worry that culture in Canada is going to be not supported.
I literally just graduated from my master’s a year ago. I was getting jobs – I got the chorus job (at the COC) and I spent last summer in Italy singing. Now I’m doing nothing.
How does your age affect your situation? There’s so much less job security, but because I’ve basically grown up in that I’m not surprised. I’m used to having to look for odd jobs like babysitting, or going to paint somebody’s wall. It doesn’t feel totally crazy. I’ve never had a full time job with benefits available to me.
Name: Zainab Mehdi
Age: 22
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Previous occupation: Recent graduate from McGill University with a BA in Psychology
What were you planning to do this summer? This summer my plan was to stay in Montreal and research for a bit, because I was working for a behavioural neuroscience lab and we were working on a paper that was supposed to be sent for publishing in the next few months. McGill shut down on 13 March and the labs haven’t really opened since.
How are you getting by? I have been receiving the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) since May. It is only given for 16 weeks so my final month would be August.
How have your plans changed? My lease was going to finish so I couldn’t really stay in Montreal anymore. My family is in Pakistan so I’m staying with my friend in Toronto in her family home.
I’ve switched over to look for more jobs in the business sector, under project management or market research. Academic research wasn’t really an option, in the subject I was interested in, because it wasn’t really essential.
How is your job search going? I wouldn’t say it’s going well. The roles I’m looking for are entry level, there aren’t many roles available and even when I do apply to applications they usually just say ‘thanks for applying, but we’re not going to proceed any further’. I’ve been trying to fill my time with learning some hard skills. I’ve been taking a course, and I’ve been interning for a construction company in project management, but it’s part time.
How has it been emotionally? I had to get used to the uncertainty. Any short-term goal or long-term goal just went out the window. So there was a lot of anxiety and stress there. There was a whole new world I didn’t even understand that I was going into, and nobody else even understood it. I had to get used to the fact that I shouldn’t have expectations anymore.
When I did eventually get through that, it became easier. I tried making the most of the small things I was doing and recognising that I am doing a lot. It’s not comparable to the pace I was doing before, but I can’t really compare because it’s not the same world. At the same time that you’re dealing with a lot of uncertainty, you’re still receiving news about a lot of loss. People are dying, there’s so much grief.
Name: Maxime Barret
Age: 24
Location: Washington, DC
Previous occupation: Stationary engineer, specialising in maintaining and repairing boilers and HVAC equipment, at a large hotel
What are you doing now? I’m still currently employed but we got notice that the hotel may close as of 24 August. We were told when this whole thing started, we would be cut down to 32 hours. Then we were told the hotel would be closing down, and there would be a skeleton crew running the hotel. I was fortunate enough to be a part of that skeleton crew. But in June, we were told the hotel is closing and we all had to find new jobs. Now I don’t know whether I should be looking for another job or not.
How was it getting that news? I’ve been in that job for five years. It’s the kind of job everyone puts their heart and soul into. Everyone felt like family there. It just kind of hurts getting a notice saying you don’t have a job anymore. When I did trade school, I did an apprenticeship at that hotel. It was a four-year apprenticeship where you went to school at night and you learn on the job. That was really where I cut my teeth and learned the trade, which made it especially hard to leave it.
How’s your job search going? The job market is definitely not great. The hotel chain has a hiring freeze so it’s hard finding a job moving from one hotel to the next, which means I lose all my benefits.
I’ve applied to at least 30 jobs. I’ve probably had about six interviews, and I haven’t heard back from many of them. It’s been pretty tough. Before I was trying to apply for something that looked like a better job to go to, but now I’m just looking for whatever I can take. Running out of health insurance in a pandemic is not what you want to do.
I am in a union – the union has really great insurance, but you have to find a job within the same union. But even the union gave is the advice of just take whatever you can get right now.
How does your age affect your situation? It’s good in some ways because in the blue-collar trades there’s not a lot of young people. But in another sense, it’s hard when you have everyone who’s 20 years my senior with a lot more experience than me. Or managers who a lot of times look down on younger years, thinking if you don’t have 30 years in the trade you don’t know anything.
Name: Katherine Fiallos
Age: 22
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Previous occupation: Recent graduate from McGill University with a BS in Microbiology and Immunology
How’s your job search going? I got an internship in Montreal just before the pandemic hit in global health, but it’s just for this summer. For the long-term, I’m mostly looking for jobs in San Francisco, where I’m from, and Canada, where I went to school.
I’ve applied to about 120-150 jobs online. About seven jobs postings were cancelled, which means they’re no longer hiring, and I’ve gotten two interviews so far. The rest have just not gotten back to me.
San Francisco is a hub of a lot of jobs and opportunities. You’re used to people telling you to “come to San Francisco, there’s all these tech and bio-tech companies” but going through the job-hunting process at this time, you can really feel the change in the economy.
What does that feel like? It’s frustrating. Once you start to go through months without hearing responses, you kind of feel like you’re just not good enough. Even after all the efforts you’ve done, like getting internships and going through the four years of gruelling academic work, you just kind of feel like it’s a waste. You have to tell yourself that it’s not really you, it’s part of the process – but it can really get to you.
How are you getting by? I’m getting by with the money that my parents generously gave me to get through my last year of university and the summer while I do my internship in Montreal. I did get grant money for my summer research project which would be barely enough to pay for my rent and living expenses. Being honest, if my parents wouldn’t have helped me out financially, I would probably be more stressed about my finances and about just living in general without a job.
How has the pandemic changed your goals? The pandemic reminded me of the importance of public health. It was something I had considered briefly, but after the pandemic happened, I realised it’s something really important and something I would want to get into.
How does your age affect your situation? I never looked for a job before a pandemic, so it’s hard for me to compare. In a way it is an advantage because young people are more sought out. If you’re a young person with a bit of experience then it’s probably more of an advantage, as opposed to a young person that has just graduated and needs to be trained, which is something companies are not always willing to do.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 250 points in late-morning trading, led by strength in the base metal and technology sectors, while U.S. stock markets also charged higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 254.62 points at 23,847.22.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 432.77 points at 41,935.87. The S&P 500 index was up 96.38 points at 5,714.64, while the Nasdaq composite was up 486.12 points at 18,059.42.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.68 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was up 89 cents at US$70.77 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down a penny at US2.27 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$9.40 at US$2,608.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.33 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Supervised injection sites are saving the lives of drug users everyday, but the same support is not being offered to people who inhale illicit drugs, the head of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS says.
Dr. Julio Montaner said the construction of Vancouver’s first indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs comes as the percentage of people who die from smoking drugs continues to climb.
The location in the Downtown Eastside at the Hope to Health Research and Innovation Centre was unveiled Wednesday after construction was complete, and Montaner said people could start using the specialized rooms in a matter of weeks after final approvals from the city and federal government.
“If we don’t create mechanisms for these individuals to be able to use safely and engage with the medical system, and generate points of entry into the medical system, we will never be able to solve the problem,” he said.
“Now, I’m not here to tell you that we will fix it tomorrow, but denying it or ignoring it, or throw it under the bus, or under the carpet is no way to fix it, so we need to take proactive action.”
Nearly two-thirds of overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2023 came after smoking illicit drugs, yet only 40 per cent of supervised consumption sites in the province offer a safe place to smoke, often outdoors, in a tent.
The centre has been running a supervised injection site for years which sees more than a thousand people monthly and last month resuscitated five people who were overdosing.
The new facilities offer indoor, individual, negative-pressure rooms that allow fresh air to circulate and can clear out smoke in 30 to 60 seconds while users are monitored by trained nurses.
Advocates calling for more supervised inhalation sites have previously said the rules for setting up sites are overly complicated at a time when the province is facing an overdose crisis.
More than 15,000 people have died of overdoses since the public health emergency was declared in B.C. in April 2016.
Kate Salters, a senior researcher at the centre, said they worked with mechanical and chemical engineers to make sure the site is up to code and abidies by the highest standard of occupational health and safety.
“This is just another tool in our tool box to make sure that we’re offering life-saving services to those who are using drugs,” she said.
Montaner acknowledged the process to get the site up and running took “an inordinate amount of time,” but said the centre worked hard to follow all regulations.
“We feel that doing this right, with appropriate scientific background, in a medically supervised environment, etc, etc, allows us to derive the data that ultimately will be sufficiently convincing for not just our leaders, but also the leaders across the country and across the world, to embrace the strategies that we are trying to develop.” he said.
Montaner said building the facility was possible thanks to a single $4-million donation from a longtime supporter.
Construction finished with less than a week before the launch of the next provincial election campaign and within a year of the next federal election.
Montaner said he is concerned about “some of the things that have been said publicly by some of the political leaders in the province and in the country.”
“We want to bring awareness to the people that this is a serious undertaking. This is a very massive investment, and we need to protect it for the benefit of people who are unfortunately drug dependent.” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
