Juno News - Is immigration causing youth unemployment？

00:00:00.000 Canada is hemorrhaging money with the official account deficit hitting an all-time high of 21.2

00:00:11.040 billion dollars in the second quarter of this year. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith vowed to seek

00:00:17.480 more provincial control over immigration while answering a grandmother concerned about high

00:00:22.600 immigration levels coupled with high youth unemployment. A man charged with the alleged

00:00:27.980 fraud targeting of new immigrants to Canada received a reduced sentence because he too is an 0.93

00:00:34.200 immigrant. Hello Canada it's Friday August 29th and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Cosmin

00:00:40.360 Georgia. And I'm Wally 1010. We've got you covered with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss

00:00:46.240 the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.

00:00:50.720 Canada's money keeps heading out the door. According to Statistics Canada the country's

00:00:59.760 current account deficit hit an all-time high of 21.2 billion dollars in the second quarter of the

00:01:06.260 year. The drop is largely due to weaker exports according to the National Data Agency. The

00:01:12.480 agency's report on international payments released on Thursday wrote quote the previous highest current

00:01:19.340 account deficit on record occurred in the third quarter of 2010 when contribution to the overall

00:01:25.700 deficit was more evenly spread between the goods services and investment income components of the

00:01:31.900 current account. Goods exports dropped over 13 percent in the second quarter their lowest value since

00:01:38.940 the fourth quarter of 2021. Imports of goods also declined four percent to 201.8 billion dollars in the

00:01:48.000 second quarter of 2025. Both exports and imports reached record highs in the previous quarter. The

00:01:56.160 report reads quote the trade in goods deficit increased by 19.1 billion dollars to a record high of 19.6 billion

00:02:06.480 dollars as exports recorded a much larger decline than imports. The goods trade surplus with the United

00:02:14.160 States narrowed from 31.3 billion dollars in the first quarter to 10.1 billion dollars in the second

00:02:21.600 quarter. Record quarterly declines in exports of energy products motor vehicles and parts and consumer goods

00:02:29.360 were the main drivers. Imports and exports of services also fell as did the travel services surplus due to

00:02:37.280 less spending by U.S. travelers in Canada and Canadians in the U.S. The report adds quote foreign portfolio

00:02:45.360 investors reduced their exposure to Canadian securities by 16.8 billion dollars in the second quarter following

00:02:52.960 a 5.8 billion dollar divestment in the first quarter. The divestment in the second quarter was the largest since

00:03:00.720 the fourth quarter of 2007. So Walid I want to point to an article that we put out uh just a few days ago

00:03:08.320 actually. It's not only in terms of our account deficit that where money is leaving the U.S. but also

00:03:15.280 Canadians are investing in U.S. stocks at the highest level since the 90s. So so much for this elbows up

00:03:23.920 approach when even Canadians are treating U.S. Investments as safer and more profitable than keeping money

00:03:32.080 in the country. So this report Walid mentioned weak exports as a driving factor of the divestment

00:03:40.080 of capital in Canada. What are some ways that the government could be addressing this issue?

00:03:47.200 Well yes you're right and I believe the report you're referring to from earlier this week mentions the figure of

00:03:52.320 Canadian investors putting in 124 billion dollars into U.S. stocks this year. So in terms of what the

00:04:00.320 government can do to remedy the situation is as Carney has said before reducing inter-provincial trade

00:04:07.520 barriers and expanding market access. Now Carney hasn't exactly done very much to do that so far

00:04:13.200 but in terms of our biggest potential natural resources that would require building pipelines to

00:04:18.560 access more marketplaces to reduce dependence on one or more partners. Of course lowering business taxes,

00:04:26.800 cutting red tape, ensuring that these projects are actually getting built could make our exports more

00:04:32.880 attractive globally because currently our export market seems to be under strain. Only in April Canada

00:04:39.440 suffered its largest ever merchandise trade deficit reaching 7.1 billion, indicating that there is a lower

00:04:47.680 confidence in our ability to export and attract global buyers. Another opportunity would be creating more

00:04:56.800 incentives for manufacturers especially in our tariffed auto and energy sectors. Possibly that could help

00:05:03.680 offset global demand slowdowns. Inserting pipelines and more transport infrastructure built could actually get

00:05:10.640 Canadian oil and gas to those other markets. And lastly, stable fiscal policy. It really matters and Carney has not

00:05:18.000 delivered anything different than what Trudeau has delivered. If investors were able to trust Canada's

00:05:22.720 economic direction and our dollar were to stabilize more, it would help turn in more exporters.

00:05:32.160 During a public panel on Wednesday, Commissioner Daniel Smith was challenged by a

00:05:35.200 grandmother who expressed frustration that her grandchildren were unable to find work despite

00:05:40.880 the ongoing influx of temporary foreign labour by Ottawa. Speaking at the Alberta Next panel and Lloyd

00:05:46.320 Minister, the woman told Smith, she believes federal subsidies for foreign workers are giving businesses

00:05:52.880 incentives not to hire young Canadians. I don't think it's a provincial issue, I think it's a federal issue, but

00:06:00.640 it's really hard for my grandchildren to get jobs right now because federally I believe the federal

00:06:06.080 government is sponsoring the, not like you ma'am, but the illegal immigrants, 50% minimum of their wages and then the 0.94

00:06:18.000 businesses pay the other 50%. So my grandchildren don't have a shot at getting a job because they're not

00:06:25.280 financeable because they're Canadian. I don't know how to address that, but it's a frustration for a lot. 1.00

00:06:31.440 Smith acknowledged the concern, calling youth unemployment in Alberta, quote, alarming.

00:06:37.760 She noted the jobless rate for young men aged 24 is around 19%, well above the historic average of 9 to 11%.

00:06:45.920 Smith said, quote, we probably have to create some kind of incentive program to give young people

00:06:51.280 that opportunity to have a first job. If we don't give that kid a first job, then they don't get their 0.84

00:06:57.440 second job and their third job. The premier said her government will roll out a new policy next week

00:07:03.200 aimed at helping young Albertans break into the workforce. Smith also linked the issue to what she

00:07:08.480 described as unprecedented federal migration levels. Noting Alberta has taken in 450,000

00:07:15.520 newcomers in the past three years, far above what the province historically observed. She said, quote,

00:07:21.520 if we were to get back to a more normal level of population growth, it would probably be about

00:07:28.240 50,000 newcomers a year. You're seeing the pressure, higher housing prices, order to rent, crowded schools,

00:07:35.280 difficulty getting a doctor. These are why people are connecting those two things. Smith said,

00:07:41.040 Alberta will seek more control over immigration, similar to Quebec, to align newcomers with economic

00:07:47.760 needs. So, Kozman, what are the conservative politicians saying about this? What has Polyev said,

00:07:52.960 for example?

00:07:53.600 Yeah, well, so as you point out, it's not just Premier Smith raising the alarm here. Conservative

00:07:59.040 leader Pierre Polyev has been hammering this issue too, especially this week out in Charlottetown, where

00:08:04.880 he delivered a press conference responding to these stats. He pointed out that while Canadian youth are

00:08:11.840 seeing the worst job numbers in a quarter century, it's the Liberal government that's bringing in a record

00:08:18.320 number of temporary foreign workers. He says that's driving down wages, driving up youth unemployment,

00:08:25.520 and robbing young people of crucial first jobs. And I was actually just looking at some of the

00:08:33.120 foreign job postings. So basically, when an employer wants to hire temporary foreign workers,

00:08:39.760 they have to apply with the government for something that's called LMIA, Labor Market Impact Assessment,

00:08:46.960 where they try to prove that no Canadians are applying for these jobs. And when you go through

00:08:53.120 these job postings, it's very common to find jobs that most young people would consider their first job.

00:09:01.040 So like a cashier at a gas station, a line cook, you know, just simple waiting tables, those types of jobs

00:09:09.440 that were reserved for younger generations to enter the workforce and gain some experience,

00:09:15.760 make some money to pay for their education or just to get out on their feet and move out. But all those

00:09:22.240 jobs somehow in towns, places in Alberta, like rural places like Slave Lake, are unable apparently to find

00:09:31.920 any Canadian willing to do that job. And I find that really hard to believe. And you can really see this 0.69

00:09:39.120 frustration on the ground. We put out a report earlier this week also about the Canadian National

00:09:47.120 Exhibition in Toronto, where 55,000 applications for just 5000 seasonal jobs were received. And it's,

00:09:57.600 you know, not a stretch of the imagination to realize that it's a lot of young people applying for these

00:10:03.760 jobs, but also a lot of new immigrants, but also potentially temporary foreign workers trying to

00:10:10.560 get these seasonal jobs. And seasonal jobs are the type of jobs that should be going to students because

00:10:17.520 their lives are essentially seasonal with going back to school and furthering their education.

00:10:22.560 So that's young people desperate for entry level work competing with each other, while also competing

00:10:29.920 with the entire world. And at the same time, multinational corporations get government backed

00:10:36.880 access to cheaper labor overseas. So I think the message is pretty clear that both Smith and Poliev

00:10:43.440 are hammering. Ottawa's mass immigration and foreign workers schemes are putting the squeeze on Canadian

00:10:50.560 youth, and it's making it harder to find work. Therefore, they can't afford rent. And it's impossible

00:10:57.120 for many to even think about home ownership.

00:11:03.840 A 53 year old man charged in connection with an alleged fraud targeting new immigrants to Canada

00:11:09.760 received a reduced sentence because he too is an immigrant. Raphael Layton was sentenced to six

00:11:16.160 months in jail after pleading guilty to a fraud count involving 15 victims, most of them recent arrivals

00:11:23.280 to the country who were duped in phony car sales deals. Ontario Superior Court Justice Clayton Conlan

00:11:31.040 handed down the sentence in Milton on June 30, acknowledging Layton's non-citizen status as a mitigating

00:11:37.440 factor that could lead to immigration consequences, including potential deportation. Conlan said in oral

00:11:44.800 reasons, quote, I also take into consideration the potential immigration consequences given that Mr.

00:11:51.120 Layton is not a Canadian citizen. The case law is clear that one cannot consider immigration consequences

00:11:57.520 to move what would otherwise be a fit sentence into the realm of being an unfit sentence. But I do not

00:12:03.600 think that six months in jail is at the low end of the range. The judge stressed that while immigration

00:12:11.600 factors cannot render a sentence unfit, they warranted a reduction here, describing the six months term as,

00:12:18.640 quote, relatively lenient and justified given the immigration consequences and the mitigating effect

00:12:25.840 of his guilty pleas. The judge noted the sentence was originally set at 10 months but reduced to nine

00:12:32.000 months, less four days to account for harsh pre-sentence custody conditions. Layton, who has a prior

00:12:38.960 criminal record including four convictions from 2009 unrelated to fraud, must also serve three years of

00:12:45.600 probation upon release with strict conditions including no contact with victims, restrictions

00:12:51.760 on vehicle sales or financial rules, and mandatory counseling. Waleed, has there been any other recent

00:12:58.400 cases where we've seen judges give more lenient sentencing because of somebody's immigration status?

00:13:05.280 Also, we've actually seen some other cases and some cases that could probably make a blood boil where

00:13:10.080 the immigration status tipped the scales towards leniency somehow. A big one for me is the case of

00:13:15.920 Akash Kumar Kant, an Indian foreign national in Ontario. He tried to buy sex from someone that he thought

00:13:24.000 was a 15 year old girl. This was actually during a sting operation by the police. It turned out to be an

00:13:29.760 undercover officer. Normally, that would almost certainly mean jail time. But Justice Paul Amara gave him a

00:13:37.520 conditional discharge. No prison, largely because of the risk that a conviction could lead to a deportation

00:13:44.640 for Kant and his wife. That stands in sharp contrast with similar cases. For example, a 19 year old Canadian,

00:13:52.000 Arian Farooji, was sentenced to seven months in prison for trying to lure what he thought was an underage girl.

00:13:58.480 Even though he was younger, a first-time offender, and had strong rehabilitation prospects, he didn't get the same break.

00:14:05.280 So Kant's case sows the same principle as Raphael Layton's fraud case. Judges weighing immigration's

00:14:12.560 consequences to lower the punishment overall, and it creates the perception of a two-tiered justice system,

00:14:19.840 one for citizens and one for foreigners.

00:14:22.400 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by

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Juno News - August 29, 2025

Is immigration causing youth unemployment？

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