Stetski allocates more than $625,000 for Kootenay-Columbia student jobs

Stetski’s local priorities echo those of past years: tourism, technology, arts and culture, the environment and food security.

Food security is one of the priorities that MP Wayne Stetski has focused on for this year's Canada Summer Jobs Initiative. — Photo courtesy Wayne Stetski

MP Wayne Stetski was instrumental in awarding $625,097 in federal assistance to create summer jobs for Kootenay-Columbia students.

The Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) Initiative contributes annually to aid in creating jobs for secondary and post-secondary students. The federal government provided $625,000 this year earmarked for youth employment in the Kootenay-Columbia riding.

Because programs like CSJ help to bolster local economies, Stetski takes an active role in establishing priorities beneficial to his riding and allocating funds accordingly. The NDP MP has requested additional funds as they become available to ensure that even more jobs are created. Already he has supported funding for 151 projects throughout the region.

“I prioritized funding for as many as 210 student jobs in the riding and gave particular consideration to communities with low rates of youth employment,” said Stetski.

The Kootenay-Columbia MP stressed that the program also is about helping our young people to acquire valuable experience and workplace skills.

“I assessed each employer on the quality of the project proposed and the experience offered to the student, not on the values of the organization. I remain hopeful that in 2019 the Liberal government will take this view and drop their controversial requirement for an attestation as to the applicant’s mandate,” added the MP.

This year Stetski’s local priorities echo those of past years: tourism, technology, arts and culture, the environment and food security. For 2018 he paid special attention to those projects employing the disabled, indigenous, or ethnic minorities. The Member of Parliament has assigned grants to eligible not-for-profit organizations, public sector employers, as well as small businesses.