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Protest to save Katimavik program planned for Heritage Minister's BC office

A group of Katimavik alumni hoping to save the recently-cancelled national youth volunteer program will protest Heritage Minister James Moore's constituency office in Port Moody on Monday, paralleling a protest on Ottawa's Parliament Hill.

Started in 1977, Katimavik puts young people across Canada to work on projects that serve marginalized or disadvantaged communities. The abrupt elimination of the program was announced in the March 29 federal budget.

"This is a loss for the communities, and this is a loss for the youth of our country as well," said organizer Edward Pullman, who participated in Katimavik in 2005. "We should be looking at how we can expand the program to meet labour market challenges in Canada. I mean, we have youth unemployment that's almost double the national average."

According to the CBC, Minister Moore responded to questions about the program's cancellation in the House of Commons earlier this month, saying Katimavik has too high a cost per participant. "Ending funding for Katimavik is one of the easiest decisions I've ever made," he reportedly said.

The minister later announced $27 million, a mix of new and committed funding, for "effective, affordable" youth programs. The YMCA of Greater Toronto is a significant recipient, with $9 million earmarked for its national youth exchange program.

But today Pullman challenged the characterization of Katimavik as inefficient.

"The economic multiplier of Katimavik is substantial. We're talking thousands of work hours for youth. I mean, I saw for myself in these small rural communities the amount of benefit this program did," he said.

Katimavik underwent a "massive" review process a few years ago where it "chopped a lot of fat" from the program, Pullman added. He pointed to Liberal MP Justin Trudeau's comparison of Katimavik's returns next to those of the Canadian Cadets program; Katimavik's cost of $2,000 per month per participant compares favourably with the cadets program's monthly cost of $4,000 per participant, Trudeau said, according to the CBC.

"We spend double on participants in the Air Cadets," Pullman said. "It's about priorities."

Robyn Smith reports and edits for The Tyee.


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