Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all our presenters here today. I know it was short notice for many of you, and we do appreciate your coming.
We respect all of the comments that are made here today. Even though many of them tend to be criticisms, we'll take those criticisms as constructive, as we always do.
I must also acknowledge our colleagues on the other side, who have recognized that this is a very serious situation Canada finds itself in--and through no fault of any Canadian, I would suggest. We're at the whim of what has happened throughout the world. It has placed all of us in a very difficult position. The government finds itself in a very difficult position in dealing with that and trying to deal with that in the fairest way to all Canadians.
Your comments here today are well accepted as constructive criticism, but we need to remember that many Canadians won't have a job at the end of this year. To suggest that your bargaining rights are not as strong as they were last year doesn't carry a lot of water with somebody who doesn't have a job. We respect that. We respect the role that leadership in this country, whether it's union or government, has to play in doing the best you can for those you represent. Please believe me when I say that's what we're doing: we're trying to recognize the difficulty all Canadians are in, and trying to be sympathetic and empathetic to that role.
All of the pieces of this budget actually fit together to be able to very quickly roll out infrastructure spending accountably, to inject financial stimulus where we can through the lending institutions to create a financial sector that continues to be strong, to be able to fund growth in this economy.
It's very important that we remember that. The opposition has recognized that, and we appreciate that. We seem to be moving quickly, and we are, to make sure that we get this money rolled out. There's $6 billion tied up in this Budget Implementation Act, which we need to protect jobs. There's a five-week extension to employment insurance. People are calling our offices every day and asking when they can get their extension and when they can get their employment insurance. We ask that you recognize that we are in unprecedented waters as we move forward.
We did provide the broadest consultation process. Some of my colleagues here in Ottawa invited many people. There was no in camera session, by the way; it was a wide-open session for those who wanted to come. There were public consultations across the country. Union groups, farmers, and fishermen were invited to this consultation process. There was an online process where all people were able to provide input. We certainly hope that you all availed yourselves of that opportunity.
Now to my question, Mr. Chair, if I may.
I'm very troubled with the comments to do with aboriginal Canadians and the Quebec Assembly of First Nations. I agree with you: I've heard this 2% factor in education, and I would sincerely love to talk with you at some point about that. I've heard that from my first nations too. Perhaps that's something we need to look at, going forward.
You mentioned something about skills training. We've put $100 million aside for aboriginal skills training and employment partnership and $75 million over two years for aboriginal skills training and investment fund. That's a substantial investment. What can we do better to make sure that this actually gets to young aboriginals?