A federal initiative launched by Justin Trudeau to spark youth volunteerism has burned through more than $204 million while remaining virtually invisible to the very people it was meant to inspire, according to internal research.Blacklock's Reporter says the Canada Service Corps, created in 2018, promised up to $1,500 per student to encourage young Canadians to serve their communities. Trudeau said at the time the program would “inspire a new culture of service in Canada.” Seven years later, government pollsters admit youth have little to no awareness of it..“Only a few participants who had volunteered with a Service Corps opportunity were aware of the Corps either before or after their service experience,” researchers wrote in a report for the Department of Employment. “No one was aware of the supports and resources available.”Charities and community groups eligible for funding also admitted they knew next to nothing about the program. Findings were based on 20 focus groups conducted by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives, a polling firm paid $148,906 by Ottawa..The report concluded most young people volunteer only when it is required — such as Ontario’s rule that every student must complete 40 hours of unpaid community service to graduate high school — or when bursaries and credits are offered in provinces like B.C., Manitoba and P.E.I.The Service Corps was touted as a successor to Katimavik, the youth travel-and-training scheme that Justin Trudeau once chaired. That program was repeatedly cancelled by Conservative governments and revived by Liberals before its federal charter was finally surrendered in 2012. The Trudeau cabinet resurrected it again in 2018 with a $3 million grant.
