Thank you very much, and thank you for being such a tireless advocate for the international student program. It is a great benefit not only to Nova Scotia but right across the country. You've heard me say that it contributes over $21.6 billion each year.
We were able to recently revive the international student pathway, in partnership with Nova Scotia and all of our provincial and territorial colleagues, in a way that ensures there is safe and orderly immigration, and I know that a number of schools have been approved in Nova Scotia. Hopefully, we will see those students continue to contribute not only to our economy but richly to our communities.
With regard to last week's announcement, as I mentioned, the great advantage of this announcement is that it creates flexibility. It encourages those from Hong Kong who have recently graduated to take advantage of an open three-year work permit. Once here, if they fall under one of the two streams that I explained in my remarks, they are able to apply for a permanent residency and then become more quickly integrated. This is important because of the needs of our economy, whether it's in health or, increasingly, in the tech sector. We believe that we have a real advantage here, and that's what this announcement hopes to make progress on.