Conservatives want to link students with supply chain

Local Conservative MPs want Ottawa to launch a program that will connect students to jobs in Canada’s food supply chain.

Dan Albas and Mel Arnold were among the MPs calling for such a program in a news release issued Thursday.

“Canada’s food supply chains are facing a critical shortage of workers due to COVID-19,” said MP John Barlow, the party’s agriculture critic. “These vacancies have the potential to disrupt production and could translate into higher costs at the grocery store for Canadians.

“Farmers and ranchers have told me firsthand how they need more support and could benefit from this type of program.”

Like the Canada Summer Jobs program, this program would cover minimum wage of a student or youth employee. This wage could then be supplemented by an additional stipend paid for by the employer.

“This new program is just one of the ways that the government could support essential service industries like fish and seafood,” said Arnold, North OkanaganShuswap MP and the the fisheries critic.

“I hope the government will implement this common-sense policy to support essential businesses and help students and youth gain meaningful work experience,” said Albas, the Central OkanaganSimilkameen-Nicola MP and the employment critic.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a $9 billion emergency program aimed at students.

It includes a Canada Emergency Student Benefit worth at least $1,250 a month from May to August.

The government is also working with provinces to create job placements for young people in sectors dealing with labour shortages, such as agriculture, food services and health, and with community-service organizations