Backgrounder: Canada Summer Jobs 2019

Background

The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada’s interdepartmental initiative that seeks to help young people aged 15 to 30 years gain the skills, abilities and work experience they need to find and maintain quality employment. Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) is delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada and falls under one of the Youth Employment Strategy program streams (Summer Work Experience).

For CSJ 2019, the program objectives place greater emphasis on the creation of quality work experiences for youth. This provides them with opportunities to develop and improve their skills, and responds to national and local priorities to improve access to the labour market for youth including those who face unique barriers.

In delivering on these objectives, the Government of Canada seeks to ensure that quality job placements occur in inclusive, safe and respectful work environments.

The CSJ 2019 call for proposals will be launched on December 17, 2018 and will close on January 25, 2019. Employers are strongly encouraged to apply using Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) during this timeframe.

GCOS is a secure web environment which allows employers to apply for funding opportunities (grants and contributions) online and provides additional functionality that allows employers to apply and track their application status, sign agreements, manage active projects, submit supporting documents, and review past projects submitted through GCOS.

To support employers, the CSJ 2019 Applicant Guide will also be available online at the start of the application period. This guide provides instructions on how to fill out an application, eligibility requirements and assessment criteria.

Service Canada will now automatically post all positions funded by CSJ to JobBank.gc.ca and on the mobile app in order to make jobs more accessible to youth. In 2019, it will be the primary source for information on the availability of positions funded through the program.

Eligibility Criteria

CSJ 2019 includes new expanded eligibility to include all youth aged 15 to 30, which means youth who are not students are eligible. This change has been made to complement the Government's renewal of the Youth Employment Strategy (YES), announced in Budget 2018. A modernized YES will be implemented over five years to ensure that youth, including those who face unique barriers, achieve their potential in an evolving labour market.

Participants

To be eligible, participants must:

• be between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the employment;
• be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment; and,
• have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.

International students are not eligible participants. International students include anyone who is temporarily in Canada for studies and who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada.

Employers

Eligible Canadian employers are from the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. Private sector employers must have 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada to be eligible. Full-time employees are those working 30 hours or more per week.

Ineligible Canadian employers are Members of the House of Commons and the Senate, Federal Government Departments and Agencies, Provincial and Territorial Departments and Agencies, and organizations that engage in partisan political activities.

Projects and Activities

Ineligible projects and activities include:

• Projects consisting of activities that take place outside of Canada;
• Activities that contribute to the provision of a personal service to the employer;
• Partisan political activities;
• Fundraising activities to cover salary costs for the youth participant; or
• Projects or job activities that:
  • restrict access to programs, services, or employment, or otherwise discriminate, contrary to applicable laws, on the basis of prohibited grounds, including sex, genetic characteristics, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression;
  • advocate intolerance, discrimination and/or prejudice; or
  • actively work to undermine or restrict a woman’s access to sexual and reproductive health services.