Justice Minister Peter MacKay announced new funding for a unique program that plans to get at risk youth involved in food trucks in Hamilton on Friday.
'We know in this community we have a high rate of youth living in poverty and for this reason alone they are at risk of engaging in criminal behaviour'- Daljit Garry, Executive Director of Wesley Urban Ministry
Wesley Urban Ministries will get just over $100,000 in federal funding over the next two years for its Moveable Feast project, which will begin this February with a group of 12 participants.
The goal of the program is to get youth — who have already been in trouble with the law, or are at risk of getting involved with criminal activity — into the food truck and catering business. The youth will be supervised as they work in both kitchens and offices, picking up valuable skills that could land them a job in the future along the way.
Those jobs, MacKay said, are "a way forward" and away from crime.
"This is exactly the type of preemptive, proactive approach that pays huge dividends," he said.
MacKay also noted the project is well suited for Hamilton, where food trucks have been a booming business. Gorilla Cheese, one of the city's most popular trucks, recently made it onto Dragon's Den and is hoping to expand in the new year.
Eventually, Moveable Feast hopes to train some 40 youth. Daljit Garry, the Executive Director of Wesley Urban Ministry, said helping them attain "economic self-sufficiency" is the goal.
"We know in this community we have a high rate of youth living in poverty and for this reason alone they are at risk of engaging in criminal behaviour," Garry said.
MacKay, who also answered a range of questions including one on the government's new anti-terrorism measures, said he thinks programs like Moveable Feast may also help youth at risk of being radicalized.
"Young people who are feeling marginalized, young people who sense that there is not opportunity for them … I think those youth are far more suceptible to the poisonous influence that organizations like ISIL and others can have," MacKay said.
MacKay said the risk of radicalization in Canada is real, especially given the reach of terrorist organizations. While many are worried youth may wind up in jail, there's now another "off ramp" that's even more serious, he said.
Last year, one Hamiltonian was reportedly killed while fighting with ISIS in Syria.
MacKay also took time to praise Wesley Urban Ministries, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and runs some 30 programs in the city.
"This work does not go unnoticed," MacKay said.
The federal money comes from the justice ministry's Youth Justice Fund.
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