So you’ve just graduated university. You've spent three to four years studying, had more late nights at the library than you care to admit, and are now preparing to enter the labour market. You're ready to put your degree to work, and start achieving success in your career. Unfortunately for many new graduates, "success" means a part-time job outside of their field of specialization.
As Canadians, we are often told that Canada has a long history of being more tolerant and accepting of minority groups than our American neighbours. While this may be true of the past century, was Canadian treatment of minorities always so positive?
In January, the Supreme Court of Canada released a pair of historic decisions affirming the freedom of association of Canadian workers, including finding for the first time ever a constitutionally protected right to strike. These decisions are the latest in a series of cases that have radically reinterpreted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to enhance the rights of working people (through the right to organize, collective bargaining, and strikes).
As part of a series of interviews that Think Forward will be conducting with Members of Parliament and political party candidates heading into the 2015 Federal Election, Think Forward Managing Editor Michael Hurley recently spoke with Liberal MP Stéphane Dion to discuss a range of issues affecting Canadian youth, from rising tuition fees to unpaid internships to high youth unemployment in Canada.
On November 4, 2008, the day that Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election, it was an ecstatic moment. The day after his historic victory, I couldn't go anywhere without hearing raving comments from people who never imagined that they would see a Black president in the White House in their lifetime. This sentiment seemed to spread worldwide, from Kenya to Canada.
What is life after graduation? You work hard for a number of years for the opportunity to walk across a stage, shake the hand of someone you've never met before, and collect a piece of paper. But what comes after that? The reality for many is not what they were promised. But if you're one of the graduates who has decided to tough it out in today's bleak job market, and you're currently looking for employment, there's some steps that you can take to make the job hunt easier.
Under Canadian law, there is legal protection for victims of discrimination and a guarantee in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of equality rights for all. But a recent Angus Reid poll has found that one-third of Canadians think racism is still a major problem in our country. And racism definitely exists in Canada, as several studies have shown that racial disparities in income, health status, civic participation, services, and job opportunities continue to persist here.
Earlier this month, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said that young people who can't find work should volunteer or work for free in order to "get some real life experience" and avoid falling into long-term unemployment. Poloz seemed to imply that it is solely up to young people to improve their dire job prospects, and that young Canadians "living in (their parents') basement" are at least partly responsible for the country's high youth jobless rate.
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United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union