First, just let me say that, as you'll note from the lack of hair on the top of my head, I've been through a number of these cycles before. I remember very well the cycle of the 1970s and then the early 1980s and then the early 1990s, when adjustment in the Canadian economy was slow, when in fact at all levels we tried to cushion the adjustment process, and the result was not great. I've got to say that as I have observed what's happened over the past three or four years, I think one has to be impressed with the resiliency of firms, with the resiliency of workers in adjusting to really rather abrupt changes. And we've adjusted in a way that we certainly didn't 35 or 30 years ago. I think in that sense we have learned from history.
The real question, then, is what we do going forward. The first lesson--and Paul has spoken about this, so I'm going to turn it over to him--is that we have to stay flexible. The second lesson is that we all--whether we're employers, whether we're governments, or whether we're individuals--have to focus on ensuring that we continue to upgrade our skills and be in the forefront.
But Paul's done some work on this, so let me turn to him.