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When young people challenge us

The Social Affairs Committee
of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops
May 1st 2002 | Version française

1. On the occasion of the annual Workers' Day, we the members of the Social Affairs Committee of the Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec, would like to offer some thoughts on the questions that young people are asking our society.

2. Since the events of September 11, it would be dangerous to believe that nothing has really changed and that an increase in security measures will be enough to seal the gap that occurred in our way of living and our understanding of society. On this subject, young people seem more sensitive to the shift that is taking place. They should be listened to much more carefully.

3. For many years, the changes in the working world and in the family have affected them daily and often rob them of their confidence in the future. The protest against a shortsighted globalization also finds echoes among many of them. It reinforces their conviction of being used more and more as a "reserve army for the working world" [1] and of being less and less the new blood that is capable of changing the society of wealthy retirees that we are presently building.

4. Indeed, this is why it is no longer enough to wish to make room for young people as though they simply had to integrate into the existing system. Along with many of them, we believe that it is ever more critical to give serious consideration to the urgent challenge which they address to us. This challenge has many facets and we will look at a few of them.

Precariousness of Work, Precariousness of a Life Plan

5. At present, we are experiencing a reorganization of the work force that is creating two very different ways of adapting. The first way consists of increasing the flexibility of the whole enterprise and of integrating all its components in this quest, beginning with its workers. The second way does not question the operation of the enterprise (and of its profits) but places the responsibility for flexibility solely on the shoulders of the employees. This translates into temporary employment, part-time or contractual work, generally for lower pay. Some unions have great difficulty countering this second tendency and often accept "orphan" clauses whereby new employees in the enterprise must accept a lower salary.

6. Thus, many young people are doubly disadvantaged. The part-time or temporary work that we leave for them, does not give them the means to really integrate into the work force. If, in addition, this piecemeal work is accompanied by inadequate income, the young people become poorer than their predecessors. Indeed, this situation is particularly painful for young women who are more frequently subject to part-time positions or even to holding a number of these concurrently.

7. As a result of this situation, should it surprise us if both young men and women delay planning a family? When work becomes uncertain, so do people and the entire society pays the price. Of course, the questions emerging from this are many. However, our government still holds enough power to make rapid changes in the Work Code and to formulate a family policy that would no longer make having a family a constraint.

The Discrediting of Institutions

8. For the most part, young people have distanced themselves somewhat from institutions, and often find more support in their immediate network. On the other hand, the working world enables them to enter into much larger networks and allows them to rely on the institutions in their milieu.

9. The precarious work situation that they are presently facing, forces them to count on their parents, friends and spouses, in order to improve their living conditions. This support remains fragile. Those who no longer have these networks or who have left them, therefore become more vulnerable and risk feeling excluded from society.

10. The relatively small number of young people adds another factor, in that it becomes more and more difficult for them to hope to change institutions that are increasingly foreign to them. Unions, Churches, political parties, and professional associations see few young people taking over and thereby contributing creatively toward the advancement of these institutions. Should this be surprising? In fact, today, where can we find economic democracy, social cooperation, and civil responsibility that are credible and transmittable? The message given by the establishment seems to be driven by the desire to make our society a sort of large scale Monopoly game, where very few end up as winners.

11. The resistance of present institutions contributes to the common notion that everything can be bought and sold and that no other world is possible. Here, actions speak louder than words, and we, in our communities, must undertake serious reflection regarding the diminishment of our institutions that is underway.

The Search for an Identity

12. We already know that for young people their life path is disrupted. They rarely follow the traditional stages : completing their studies, leaving home, entering the working world, and starting a family. Young people's world is already diversified and the upheaval of the working world makes solidarity between peers even more difficult. For some, work still remains the center of their life and of their social identity. For others, it is only a means of earning a living. Their immediate network of social relationships that they build together, or their personal search for meaning takes on greater importance. Therefore, as a result, many men and women will certainly not be content to work at any and all cost, or to be consumers of whatever services are offered. They would like to participate fully in their work environment and to invest their talents in its transformation.

13. International awareness is already integrated into their search for identity and this is why borrowing from other cultures and cultural mixing is part of their everyday life. Chung, Bhakir, Anita are their names and, with the Internet, the other side of the world is at their fingertips. The search for meaning and the thirst for spirituality ignites them, sometimes setting them off on long interior journeys as new pilgrims who are going to help their neighbours elsewhere in the world. Or, quite simply, they want to test their ability to take life into their own hands without the backup of the family bank account or the assumptions of their predecessors.

14. At the heart of these transitions, meaningful opportunities emerge : the art of living together, the demanding yet stimulating encounter of the other, an evolution that respects everyone's capacities and their conscience of the fragility of nature and of the planet. This is a demanding road!

15. Thus, for young people, the idea that "the market is everything" and that "work is everything" is now being questioned. Their future can no longer be found there and they sense this strongly. Embarking on the market merry-go-round leads nowhere and ends in nausea. This is their experience and perhaps more especially, that of women. This is why more and more young people question what direction to give their lives.

16. Let us acknowledge that our society today is rather underdeveloped in this area of introspection. The fragility that we share does not affect only the world of work. It also frays our social fabric and increasingly reveals the lack of meaning into which we are evolving. What if the ancient prophet Joel was right when he proclaimed that the young would prophesy? [2] Once again, today's young generation is not just another recognized stage in the demographic renewal of our society. Increasingly this generation is the sign of the breakdown of our market society and its deities. Whether through a network of mutual aid in everyday life, a march against poverty or a shuddering response to the news from big international social forums, in many ways this young generation are bearers of hope. Right under our nose, they are opening roads infrequently traveled, establishing landmarks and creating original links. This is why we must listen to them.

Some Tasks

17. Examples of solidarity are not lacking in our society. However, they are usually limited to the family and to its children but rarely toward other people's children. Young people in particular are suffering from the deficit in this domain. Our solidarity lacks breadth and scope. For those with employment, nothing is more normal than wanting to safeguard it, but why accept discriminatory clauses for the young, thereby cutting all intergenerational ties?

18. Many people are retired now or soon will be. How could they support a family policy that would enable upcoming generations to thrive?

19. Those responsible for programs certainly want to equip young people for taking their place in the work force. Can they acknowledge :

20. The system of student loans and grants often creates insurmountable debt and the delaying of starting a family. Is it possible to be as generous to young people as we are to enterprises from which we do not expect any direct return?

21. Several dioceses are hoping to benefit from the impact generated by the international meeting of young people with the Pope this summer in Toronto. What social follow-up will we give this gathering and what investments are we willing to make, as a diocese, for the local youth movement that is seeking a place in our society?

22. We believe that all of us have some way to go in renewing dialogue and establishing partnerships with young people. If they are our future and if that concerns us and challenges us, then it is urgent to ask ourselves what heritage, what society, what hope we want to offer them. For us, one thing is certain, their youthful outlook is strongly influenced by God who is « ever ancient, ever new », God of the future. This brings hope.

Useful French References :

Conseil permanent de la jeunesse. Emploi atypique et précarité chez les jeunes : une main d'oeuvre à bas prix, compétente et jetable! Québec avril 2001

Danièle Fournier et alii, L'intégration multidimensionnelle des jeunes. Montréal, Relais-femmes, mars 2001

La JOC du Québec. La JOC demande une réforme en profondeur de la loi sur les normes du travail. Conférence de presse du 27 avril 2000

Collectif, Les enjeux des clauses « orphelin », Montréal, Les Intouchables 1999.

The Social Affairs Committee The Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec

Mgr Martin Veillette, Bishop of Trois-Rivières, President

Mgr Louis Dicaire, Auxiliary Bishop of Montréal

Mgr Gérard Drainville, Bishop of Amos

Mgr Jean-Guy Hamelin, Bishop Emeritus of Rouyn-Noranda

Patrick Arsenault, Pastoral Agent, Gaspé

Céline Martin, CPMO, Montréal

René Guay, Priest, Chicoutimi

Gisèle Marquis, Assistant for Social Affairs, Secretary

Legal Deposit--- 2nd Trimester 2002
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec

ISBN 2-89279-076-X

[1] Conseil permanent de la jeunesse. Emploi atypique et précarité chez les jeunes : une main d'oeuvre à bas prix, compétente et jetable! Québec, avril 2001. (Available only in French)

[2] Joel 2 : 28 "Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy".