Ottawa boosts student summer employment

The Canada Summer Jobs program will receive a $10 million funding boost, the federal government announced Wednesday. The program subsidizes up to 100 per cent of a student’s minimum wage for not-for-profit employers during the summer months, while subsidizing 50 per cent for small businesses and public sector employers. With the new funding, an additional 3,500 students will be eligible to participate on top of the 37,000 that took part in the program last year. Eligible students must be returning to full-time study in the fall and be between the ages of 15 and 30. The Canadian Federation of Students praised the move but objected to the fact that only minimum wage is being covered. "It can’t fully address the rising costs of post-secondary education," chairperson David Molenhuis said.