M-105 Youth Climate Corps

That:

(a) the House recognize that,

(i) Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain incompatible with what science and justice demand to secure a livable future,

(ii) mobilization for climate action at the scale required must be a grand societal undertaking,

(iii) thousands of young people across Canada understand that we face a climate emergency and are eager to serve as we, as a country, seek to drive down GHG emissions and prepare for climate disasters,

(iv) a Youth Climate Corps could train hundreds of thousands of youth for careers in the well-paying green jobs of the future, and help ensure Canada has a skilled workforce for a sustainable economy,

(v) an ambitious Youth Climate Corps would be a transformative public program, signaling to young people and society at large that we are genuinely in climate emergency mode,

(vi) a Youth Climate Corps could also help Canada address many of our other gravest challenges, including inequality, youth mental health, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, the housing crisis, shortages of skilled labour and lack of opportunities for young people; and

(b) in the opinion of the House, the government should,

(i) implement a Youth Climate Corps to lead the mass-mobilization required to train and employ thousands of young adults, aged 17 to 35, to assist in emergency responses required during extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat domes, and flooding,

(ii) strengthen community and environmental resilience to climate change, such as helping to make forests more resilient to fires, enhancing natural ecosystems, improving local infrastructure, and strengthening community supports in anticipation of extreme weather events,

(iii) build infrastructure that drives down GHG emissions, for example through installing renewable energy systems, such as solar, wind, and heat pumps, improving building energy efficiency, building sustainable and affordable public transportation systems, and many other initiatives,

(iv) achieve the goals laid out in (b)(i) to (b)(iii) through transparent and inclusive consultation, collaboration, and partnership with Indigenous Peoples, frontline and vulnerable communities, labour unions, worker cooperatives, civil society groups, academia, and businesses, by implementing a whole of government approach to the creation and implementation of the Youth Climate Corps and by involving appropriate government departments, such as Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Department of Finance Canada, and others,

(v) consider establishing a new Youth Climate Corps crown corporation to lead this effort, deploying funds and youth to work on community projects that maximize the reduction of greenhouse gases and swiftly enhance community and ecological resilience to climate change.