Front-line worker Cassandra St. Germain was cut off two years earlier than expected from an Alberta program that supports youth aging out of care. (Cassandra St. Germain)
Failure to improve programs for Indigenous youth adults transitioning out of government care could cost the Canadian economy billions, warns a new report from the Conference Board of Canada.
In the recently released report, Empowering Indigenous Youth in Care as They Transition to Adulthood: Critical Actions for Philanthropy and Policy, researchers call on policymakers to rethink guidelines for eligibility “to ensure that youth get the support they need during critical life transitions.”
“Children who spend time in care fall behind in various areas of well-being and development. These effects continue to limit their opportunities and outcomes long into adulthood, which together impact economic growth and incur costs on government,” the report states.
“Age cut-offs are incongruous with developmental realities and do more harm than good. By expanding the criteria for program eligibility beyond age, policymakers can create more inclusive and effective programs for Indigenous youth.”
Using two different economic modelling scenarios, the report projects revenue loss in areas including income tax, earnings, and social assistance payments.
“The report found that if investments weren’t made in education, employment and mental health supports for Indigenous youth aging out of foster care over the next five years, it could cost the Canadian economy anywhere between $2 billion and $5.5 billion,” said Amanda Thompson, report co-author and researcher.
Youth advocate Penny Frazier urged the Alberta government to reinstate full supports for youth up to 25 aging out of care. (Penny Frazier)
In Alberta, the UCP government announced it would scale back the age of eligibility from 24 to 22 for the Support and Financial Assistance Agreements (SFAA) in 2019, though the policy wasn’t implemented for a few years due to a court challenge.
The move cut off hundreds of Indigenous youth two years earlier than expected from benefits such as rent, daycare and groceries while they finished school.
Edmontonian Cassandra St. Germain, 27, a front-line worker who grew up in Alberta’s foster care system, experienced cuts to the SFAA program first-hand.
St. Germain had just turned 22 when she was informed by phone that she would lose her SFAA benefits two years earlier than expected.
Fortunately, she said, she was already working and had a good support system in place that equipped her to access resources that “are not actually as accessible and easy to navigate as they seem superficially.”
“So it wasn’t such a blow to me. But I know other people who have become homeless and have ended up on the streets because of [cuts to SFAA],” St. Germain said.
“What’s really shocking to me is just seeing how young the faces are getting that are approaching us for help, and how little resources there are for it.”
Investing more in Albertans exiting the child welfare system is essential, according to Penny Frazier, long-time youth advocate and editor of Zine & Heard, a monthly publication that amplifies the voices of youth in Alberta’s child welfare system.
The cut to SFAA sparked a legal battle that delayed changes to the program by more than a year.
As hundreds of SFAA participants lost their benefits, the province introduced the Transition to Adulthood Program (TAP) in 2022, touting it as a way to help more youth transition smoothly out of care.
Frazier said that unlike SFAA, TAP does not provide support for rent, groceries, clothing, bus passes and daycare. Also missing, said Frazier, is the ongoing relationship with a social worker, who can be like a parental figure for youth in care.
She urged the province to reinstate the full range of benefits up to the age of 25, noting British Columbia and Ontario have recently expanded their programs.
“That can make the difference between them attending school, getting a job, getting the help they need for their mental illness or for their addiction, for gathering those skills they need to live on their own,” Frazier said.
The province says it has invested a total of $28 million over the next three years to expand the TAP program but did not provide its rationale for the change to SFAA.
“Alberta’s government is committed to supporting the safety, well-being and success of youth and young adults transitioning out of care,” wrote Ashli Barrett, press secretary to the Office of the Minister of Children and Family Services, in a statement.
“Efforts are made to help transition program recipients find employment, and access First Nation-provided financial support or provincial adult income supports if needed.”
The report also found that strengthening education and mental health for Indigenous youth aging out of care across Canada could increase their total lifetime income by an estimated $1.1 billion.
“While youth in the general population typically benefit from family supports in their pursuit of a post-secondary education, youth aging out of foster care lose access to their supports,” the report said.
OTTAWA – The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff.
Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit. A government official, who The Canadian Press is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the change, said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault will announce Tuesday that the threshold will increase to 20 per cent above the provincial median hourly wage.
The change is scheduled to come into force on Nov. 8.
As with previous changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program, the government’s goal is to encourage employers to hire more Canadian workers. The Liberal government has faced criticism for increasing the number of temporary residents allowed into Canada, which many have linked to housing shortages and a higher cost of living.
The program has also come under fire for allegations of mistreatment of workers.
A LMIA is required for an employer to hire a temporary foreign worker, and is used to demonstrate there aren’t enough Canadian workers to fill the positions they are filling.
In Ontario, the median hourly wage is $28.39 for the high-wage bracket, so once the change takes effect an employer will need to pay at least $34.07 per hour.
The government official estimates this change will affect up to 34,000 workers under the LMIA high-wage stream. Existing work permits will not be affected, but the official said the planned change will affect their renewals.
According to public data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 183,820 temporary foreign worker permits became effective in 2023. That was up from 98,025 in 2019 — an 88 per cent increase.
The upcoming change is the latest in a series of moves to tighten eligibility rules in order to limit temporary residents, including international students and foreign workers. Those changes include imposing caps on the percentage of low-wage foreign workers in some sectors and ending permits in metropolitan areas with high unemployment rates.
Temporary foreign workers in the agriculture sector are not affected by past rule changes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government likely failed to keep its deficit below its promised $40 billion cap in the last fiscal year.
However the PBO also projects in its latest economic and fiscal outlook today that weak economic growth this year will begin to rebound in 2025.
The budget watchdog estimates in its report that the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at $40 billion and in her spring budget said the deficit for 2023-24 stayed in line with that promise.
The final tally of the last year’s deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall.
The PBO says economic growth will remain tepid this year but will rebound in 2025 as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts stimulate spending and business investment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the level of food insecurity increased in 2022 as inflation hit peak levels.
In a report using data from the Canadian community health survey, the agency says 15.6 per cent of households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021.
The reading was up from 9.6 per cent in 2017 and 11.6 per cent in 2018.
Statistics Canada says the prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and stable during the pandemic years as it fell to 8.5 per cent in the fall of 2020 and 9.1 per cent in 2021.
In addition to an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022, the agency says there was an increase in the severity as more households reported moderate or severe food insecurity.
It also noted an increase in the number of Canadians living in moderately or severely food insecure households was also seen in the Canadian income survey data collected in the first half of 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct 16, 2024.
