One of my favourite parts of serving as your Member of Parliament is that it affords me the opportunity to speak at convocations across our riding. This year alone I will personally congratulate graduates in Canmore, Olds, Crossfield, Airdrie and Cochrane.
Convocations are wonderful events, not just for the students, but their parents, teachers and community who helped them reach this important milestone. My favourite part is listening to the graduates themselves. Every class has its own characters and stories to tell.
Convocations remind us that each student is unique. They each have their own backgrounds, aptitudes and skills.
In the coming years, they will each struggle in their own way to find their place in our world.
Sometimes we tend to take an exclusively macro view of our society. How often have you heard someone complain about, “those darn kids,” or generalize that teens are lazy? If you don’t have a teen of your own sometimes it’s easy to fall into that trap. You may not see the kids who attend sports practices at 7 a.m. or meet those who travel directly from school to their part-time job for the evening’s duration.
Each student’s circumstances are different.
As a Member of Parliament, I believe this is an important perspective to keep in mind as our government proceeds with plans to support job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity.
In the wake of the global recession, Canada is leading the G7 in job creation with more than 900,000 net new jobs. From a macro economic standpoint, jobs and economic growth are important for our country’s future prospects. But on an individual level, finding the right employment is a potentially life-changing event, especially for young adults.
At the same time, here in Alberta, a looming skilled-labour shortage has the potential to slow our economy. But what does that mean on an individual level? For the small business owners in our communities, finding the right employee can make a world of difference.
That’s why our government’s budget focuses on finding jobs for Canadian workers and workers for Canadian jobs. To succeed, we need each other.
To all of our local graduates: Congratulations.
I know each of you has something valuable to offer, and I look forward to seeing you achieve your potential.
