Johnny767, I don't agree. This has been the norm in Europe for years - and it isn't just cadet programs, airlines hire "250 hour wonders" out of normal flying schools all the time. As an airline captain here in the UK I fly with these guys all the time and have every confidence that if I bought it and they had to save the day, they would. A few years back this exact scenario happened in my airline and the brand new JR FO did, in fact, save the day (except for the captain who sadly died).
On the other hand, I have seen many smug several-thousand hour FO's who scared the life out of me as a result of their complacency.
Hiring low hour pilots is not necessarily a cost reduction exercise, just look at the rates of pay here in Europe. A second officer position pays as much as a turboprop captain in Canada. Rates of pay in Canada are already rock-bottom and I cannot see how they could possibly be driven lower.
I see this as a very positive development as it is an indication that the industry in Canada is finally moving, and the poaching of Canadian pilots by the rest of the world should drag the industry back up to a better, liveable, level. It's all supply and demand and it is true that pilots are very much in demand.