By Behshad Hastibakhsh

Contributing Writer

RECENT political
rhetoric from Orcawa
indicates that the next
federal election is only
a few months away,
depending on public
reactions to the upcom-
ing federal budget.

This comes as a bad newss
to young Canadians who are
tired of listening to empry
promises, falsified economic
forecasts and simplistic solu-
tions to major socio-econom-
ic issues.

While our public officials
seem to be mainly concerned
about their re-election, a vast
segment of society suffers
from the trickle down effects
of an stagnant economy.
These harsh economic condi-
tions are certainly the result
of decades’ long tax and
spend policics which have
caused a scrious deficit and
debt crisis on both provincial
and federal levels.

It is also due to a combi-
nation of high taxes, overex-
tended bureaucratic control
and government regulations
that this country and
province has become an unfa-
vorable place for private
investment.

Taking the number of
highly educated, extremely
qualified and skilled unem-
ployed population into
account, one may wonder
why this province, like the
rest of Canada, continues to
lag far behind the newly
emerging East Asian coun-
tries in terms of annual eco-

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nomic growth.

A first gla
in the last tew
been little or virtually no
effort to create entry-level
employment upportunitics
for vouth.

This has led to widespread
distrust, alienation and skep-
ticism among this demo-
graphic group known as the
Generation X, the 20- and
30-vear-olds.

Generation X, whose con-
tribution and javolvement in
society is essential for
Canada’s fuiure prospezir,
has become alienated trom
existing socio-economic and
political structures.

ly, Canada’s youth feels
increasingly neglected by
those in positions of authority.

In the absence of suffi
cient entry-level employment,
one can often sce young uni-
versity graduates working in
the retail or the service sector
under the worst possible con-
ditions which at some point
resemble modern slavery.

Yes, slavery in the work-
place is unfortunately too
common, because our public
officials fail to sufficiently
address the need for private
investment in research, devel-
opment and manufacturing
sectors.

As a result, few young
individuals have the chance to
work in their field of exper-
tise and to build the basic
financial resources needed in
a Strong economy.

Although government sta-
tistics show the national
uneraployment rate to be
around 10%, a substantial
number of young Canadians
remain unaccounted for in

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“A first glance reveals that in the last
few vears there has been
little or virtually no effort to create
entry-level employment opportunities
for youth.”

the official data.

They are those whose per-
sonal! pride prevents them
from filing tor inemployment
or welfare claims; those who
have cither part-time, shori
term contracts, or even odd
jobs,

And finally, there are those
under-employe:
whose biweekly income rarely
exceeds the $100 mark.

Youth unemployment is a

serous issue that has been
largely neglected by our
clected officials.

Acknowledging the signif-
icance of the existing eco-
nomic crisis, our p
bear the responsibility to
restore faith and hope in the
hearts of Canada’s youth by
all means necesss

This includes government
deregulation, and iarge tax
incentives to multinational

‘24S

Wednesday, March 1

rking

corporations which, given
the presence of the well-edu-
cated and technically quali-
Sed workforce, will then
choose Canada as a place for
investment.

One must remember that
in the age of econemic glob-
alization multinational corpe-
rations are major actors in
shaping tomorrow's world
economy.

Thus, government’s main
responsibility lies in lobiv
them and in building a con-
tractual relationship through
the exchange of tax shelters
for reasonable employee
benefits.

— Bebshad Hastibakhsh is
a North Vancouver writer.
The North Shore News reg-

2, 199

ularly allocates space for read-
er input on a wide range of
community isues in the form
of guest columns.

wt have a column please
send it c/o The Editor, North
Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale
Ave., North Vancouver, V7M
2144 ar via e-mail to tren-
shaw@direct.ca. Submissions
must be typewritten and
should be approximately 500
words.

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