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EDITOR JOSHUA REY |

THURSDAY, OCT. 24,2019 |

THE VOICE

3

Justin Trudeau speaks to students at the UBC Okanagan campus. Some Langara students weren't happy that he was reelected. pHoTo HiVEMINER. COM

Students weigh in on election

Langara pupils not happy with Trudeau and think issues need to be verified

= By MISSYJOHNSON

ome students at Langara
were unaware of the federal
election Monday night,
others are skeptical with the
results and were united in wanting
and expecting more going forward.
Many were not sold by what
re-elected prime minister Justin
Trudeau had to say; distrust and
uncertainty seemed to be the
common thread and most expressed
relief the Liberals would have a
minority government.
The Liberal Party will have 157

seats in the House of Commons

with the Conservative Party repre-
senting the opposition with 121
seats. The Bloc Québécois made

a come-

“Tm just happy it’s a minority, I

don’t trust Trudeau.”
The last Canadian minor-
ity govern-

back while [~ ,, . —] ment was in
the NDP Ithink more young | 2011 during
sustained Stephen
losses and people should have H arp er’s
one seat was voted NDP Student fees second term.
gained for the ' . Wilson-
Green Party. are SO €Xpenslve- pane Raybould
Jody Wilson- WATSON, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDENT said in her
Raybould will Lo — victory speech
sit in Ottawa Monday,
as an independent MP. stronger policies and bi-partisan

Daniel Watson a first-year infor-
mation technology student said,

choices are made with this kind of
government.

Describing the results from
Monday, Langara political science
instructor Stephen Phillips said
“it means the governing party
commands less than a majority of
seats.”

Although a minority may lead to
a more non-partisan government,
Watson said he’s glad conserva-
tive leader Andrew Scheer didn’t
get into power. He believes Canada
can still do better, especially for
students.

“I think more young people
should have voted NDP,” he said.
“Student fees are so expensive in

Canada.”

Watson pointed out that life
is easier and more affordable for
students in other countries such as
Sweden and Denmark.

Tessa Scramstad, an arts
student, said members of parlia-
ment need to take a more aggres-
sive approach to climate change
and said she doesn't think the prime
minister is up for the task.

“Justin Trudeau and the pipeline
situation is not a good situation at
all,” Scramstad said.

Sixty-six per cent of registered
voters when to the polls, a two per-
cent decrease from 2015.

Driving for some extra cash

Stringent B.C.
ride-hailing rules
deter some stu-
dent applicants

= By LINA CHUNG

ome Langara students say
S they would drive part-time

for the incoming ride-hailing
companies because they have flexible
schedules.

Ride-hailing companies
like Uber and Lyft will be
operating in B.C. this fall
and students are seeing it
as a potential job oppor-
tunity.

In B.C, to become a
driver for ride-hailing
companies, a Class 4 driv-
er’s licence is needed. The
vehicle must also be nine
years or newer.

Karanpreet Singh, a second-year
computer studies diploma student,

is applying for his Class 4 driver's

licence shortly, and is hoping to drive

in the evenings for Uber in the next
ear.

“I will do an office job from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m., then in the evening I will
drive Uber for four to five hours,”
said Singh. “It’s an independent job.
You don’t have to work under some
employer.”

He added that you can drive
whenever you want.

Student Yao Fu likes the benefits
of this independence too.

“The money we get is much more
than the [cost of operating a car]...

and you just take your time to go to
school or go back home,“ said Fu. “I
think that it’s pretty convenient for

them to get extra money.”

Both Singh and Fu know friends
who currently drive for Uber or other
ride-hailing companies in Canada.

Other Langara students were not
keen on the idea of driving part-time
for companies like Uber.

“T don't know if Uber pays enough
to make it worth it, if you factor in
car maintenance and gas,” Dave
Scorer said.

The business model is unclear for
Alochen Rajaratnam, “Personally I
wouldn't because I don’t understand
the concept at this point,” he said.

Right now, there is no shortage of
job ads for Uber and Lyft

TL . “| driver job ads in the Lower

It's anindependent | Mainland.

: b Yi d ' h Uber was first founded
Job. rou don t have as UberCab in 2009 in San
to work under some Francisco. ‘The following

year Uber had it’s first trip.

employer.” In 2012, Toronto was

— KARANPREET SINGH the first city in Canada
COMPUTER STUDIES STUDENT to launch the ride-hail-
_| ing program. Ottawa

followed suit in 2014 Uber
launched in Calgary in 2015. Today
over 40 cities in Canada have Uber
and other ride-hailing services.

Young workers in decline

By ANITA ZHU

The number of youth aged
15-24 with jobs is on the decline,
according to a recent Statistics
Canada study.

Based on the Stats Can
numbers, the unemployment rate
fell to 12.7 per cent from 12.2 per
cent in the last few months.

According to some Langara
students, the reason why they
arent looking for jobs is because
of busy school schedules or a
desire to focus on their academics.

Some programs like Studio 58
do not allow students to have jobs
during the term.

‘The average rate of unemploy-
ment for youth 15-29 was 11.8%
between 1990 and 2015

“I have to focus on my stud-
ies,” explained Langara student
Mihaela Andruseac.“I am study-
ing full time.”

Some want jobs but find it
tough to find one.

Langara art student Mathew
Sever said he sometimes found
that “language can be a barrier.”

The number of students who
applied for the SWAP program

this fall increased compared to

this past summer, Erin Hagen,
the administrative coordinator
from student services said in an
email to The Voice.

However, the number of
students who actually submitted
hours dropped to 49 from 60.

hh haKe.

A young man works at Starbucks.
PHOTO ERIS SIVA, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS