Charlotte Winsor has been a clerk at Badger Bay Health and Beauty for 22 years as part of the area's supported employment program. (Troy Turner/CBC) For many clients of the Green Bay Supported Employment Corporation, their work is more than a job. It's a career, a personal achievement, a sense of purpose.
But all those things may soon be stripped away, following a funding cut by the federal government. Kem Young, manager of the employment corporation, says they remain optimistic that a solution will be found to keep the work going. "Moving forward, we're being positive, and I'm feeling very positive that this will be resolved," Young told CBC News this week.
Detailed in this year's federal budget is a $625-million cut to the Labour Market Development Agreement, which funds community support organizations that help people find jobs. For Newfoundland and Labrador, that means a loss of $16.5 million a year.
Employment corporations can still draw from the $142-million pool the province gets. The provincial government has topped up the feds' share until the end of June, but the future of the employment corporations beyond that remains uncertain. Alisha Young says she would be devastated if she lost her job at the Icecap Youth Centre in Springdale.
(Troy Turner/CBC) For clients and their families and employers in the Green Bay area, it's a devastating blow. Alisha Young wears many hats at the Icecap Youth Centre in Springdale. She handles social media for the non-profit, organizes .