Dear editor,How many of you know that May 1 to 7 was National Youth Week in Canada? Well, it has come and gone with hardly a ripple.Just like the Student Works Program. Remember the federally sponsored Student Works Program? It hired college students to manage a program that linked youth in the community with temporary jobs (garden work, gutter cleaning, etc.) that people needed done.Just like Katimavik. Many of us know either a youth or a community that benefited from exposure to this volunteer program that has also been scuttled by the 鈥渕ajority鈥� federal government.So while our federal government is quick to spend billions of our tax dollars on new fighter jets, it is abandoning one of our most precious assets 鈥� our youth. What can we do?We can recognize the need to retain the few youth-centred programs that are working in our community such as the Linc and Blade Runners.On a local government level, we can encourage our youth by developing hiring programs that link youth with businesses and homeowners that need part time, casual workers.On a personal level, we can look for posters and message boards made by youth who are seeking work in our communities and give them a chance.Give them a chance, and the paybacks can be rich!Paul Bozenich,Lazo
