I moved to Sarnia two years ago, and my daughter, then 20, began looking for part-time or full-time work to save for her education. She is a Canadian citizen, eager to work, and has held jobs in every other town we’ve lived in since she was 15.
I moved to Sarnia two years ago, and my daughter, then 20, began looking for part-time or full-time work to save for her education. She is a Canadian citizen, eager to work, and has held jobs in every other town we’ve lived in since she was 15.
After two years and countless applications, the situation has become deeply depressing, and she feels unable to move forward with her life. What we’ve come to realize is that the entry-level job market in this city feels impenetrable for local young people. When a single job posting for a minimum-wage position at a place like Subway or Bulk Barn attracts over 700 applicants, it’s clear the system is broken.
My frustration is with a system that seems to put our own citizens at a disadvantage. I previously lived in Australia on a temporary visa, where I could only be hired for a position that no Australian citizen had applied for. It was a policy designed to protect the domestic workforce. Why do we not see the same protections for our own youth here in Sarnia?
How are federal and provincial policies allowing for a situation where the competition for unskilled labour is so fierce that a young person from our community can’t even get an interview? It raises serious questions about the integrity of our labour and immigration systems. How are employers navigating these programs, and is there any oversight to ensure local applicants are given fair consideration?
This is a national issue, but the severity here in Sarnia-Lambton is staggering. I wrote to our Conservative MP, hoping for an ally in the Opposition who would see the flaws in the current government's approach. Instead, her office replied that there is no issue with unemployment, pointing to the many job ads as proof.
To suggest that the mere existence of job ads means there is no problem is incredibly out of touch. The problem isn’t the number of postings; it’s the impenetrable wall of competition and a system that appears to have left our own kids behind. I’m not sure how our MP can represent this area if she does not know or care that this is a defining struggle for so many families.
What future are we building in Sarnia for the next generation if they can’t even get their foot on the first rung of the ladder?
Linda Lili
