Removing key barriers that prevent young people from achieving their economic purpose

BY PAUL JUNOR

The PC-led government announced on Thursday, June 8^th the creation of the Premier’s Council on Equality of Opportunity.

In the news release from the Office of the Premier, Doug Ford states, “At a time when the world is facing some of it’s most difficult challenges, we have to do everything we can to help our next generation of leaders overcome the social and economic barriers before them. Our young people are the future of the province and I truly believe this council will be a strong advocate that will set them down the path to even greater success.” This youth council will act as an advisory group that will provide important advice to the government to ensure that 20 youth between the ages of 18-29 are given a voice so that their issues are recognized.

The government is looking for youth from across Ontario to join the council, especially those who have expertise in areas such as: community service, business, education, and government services such as youth justice and childcare. The membership will be intergenerational and cross sector and will include a chair and vice-chair. In its advisory role, it will provide advice to the government on long-term strategies that it can engage in to help youth who are impacted the most by COVID-19.

According to the Minister of Children Todd Smith, “The Premier’s Council on Equality of Opportunity will allow our government to hear directly from those who have faced economic challenges in our province. The council’s knowledge, combined with the insight gained from engaging with communities and youth across Ontario, will help our government as we work to remove the key barriers that prevent young people from achieving their economic purpose.”

Premier Doug Ford appointed Jamil Jivani, an author, lawyer and community organizer, who also serves as Ontario’s Advocate for Community Opportunities as the chair of the council. Jamil will also head the new anti-racism council for the government of Ontario. He stated, “For decades, youth from disadvantaged communities have face barriers to succeeding in our economy.

COVID-19 has made these issues worse. As chair of the Premier’s Council on Equality of Opportunity, I will work with a diverse group of leaders to help the government give young workers especially disadvantaged youth a fair chance to succeed in Ontario’s workforce.”

The focus will be on ensuring that children, families and youths who have pressing needs are attended to. The government has allocated $1.5 million that is intended to help black youth from marginalized and vulnerable communities. Jamil states, “We want to impact policy in that we can see real action. A lot of previous administrators have been about talk.”

 Liberal members Mitzie Hunter and Michael Coteau were quick to respond. They reminded the government that it disbanded the previous Premier’s Council on Youth Opportunities (PCYO), which gave advice to the Premier and the Minister of Children and Youth Services on issues affecting youth. The previous council was involved in local communities, and were able to give youth input to government’s decision-making.

In addition, this council had 25 members and was geared towards youth between 16-25 years of age. The mandate of this council in the 2016-2017 budget was to advise the government with respect to outcomes for at-risk youth and ensuring that programs and services were amenable to diverse groups and sectors.

The Liberal members state that the PC-led government has wasted two years. There is much hope that this new council will really change the lives of our youth.