00:00So I urge the government, please proceed with caution and care for all citizens.
00:08MP for Laventhal East Mova, Christian Birchwood forewarns the government on its current stance on youth programs and the possible
00:16high cost to society in the future.
00:19These include a civilian conservation corps and the military-led academic training or MILAT programs.
00:25The CCC has been suspended for over a year, with MILAT now following in its trail.
00:32According to the MP, staff have been told that the contracts would not be renewed.
00:36He claims his research has led to the discovery that in 2024, 88 cadets graduated from the program, 51%
00:45of them attaining full C-SEC certification.
00:48In that cohort, there existed an 86% pass rate in English language and a 66.3% pass rate
01:00in mathematics.
01:01That, ladies and gentlemen, now shows that there's an academic opportunity that has potentially been stripped away from the young,
01:14vulnerable persons in our communities.
01:16Birchwood says those are the young men and women who want to choose a life instead of death.
01:22Defense Minister Wayne Sturge has cited a lack of financial viability, the need for a structural overhaul, and a lack
01:29of statistical impact on major crime as reasons behind MILAT's suspension.
01:34By that logic, we should be suspending the TTPS, because crime has been increasing, even though we have been spending
01:44more behind national security.
01:47The government's decision is baffling to the MP, who came bearing a written testimony of a young man professed to
01:53have been rescued by the program along with his batch.
01:56But my question is, and I think the most important question remains, what is the alternative?
02:04What is the alternative for this gap that you have now created?
02:08Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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