The reality is that many aboriginal graduates from high school are not getting the financial support they need to take those programs. There is a program that's intended to do that for these learners, but it was capped in 1996 at a 2% growth rate, which is less than inflation. So while we are in fact graduating more aboriginal learners from high school, which is marvellous—albeit we still have a distance to go—the support programs to help them transition into post-secondary education, including for an advanced skill like welding, are not keeping up with the demand.
On November 2nd, 2009. See this statement in context.