Thank you, Chair, and my thanks to you witnesses for coming out. I appreciate your accommodating the committee with the short notice. It's been one of those days where it's been hard to plan anything, and I think the chair must be pulling his hair out trying to schedule meetings and coordinate witnesses. I appreciate the work the clerk does in regard to that.
The testimony here I find amazing, because I come from Saskatchewan. I'll use an example in my riding. I have a local Canadian Tire, and they have been trying to get mechanics for quite a while.
A couple of years ago, there were layoffs in the auto sector in Ontario and Canadian Tire did their own job fair. The common answer they got from mechanics was that they'd think about it once their EI ran out, then maybe they'd give Canadian Tire a call.
That's been quite common talk at the different businesses in Saskatchewan. We're missing out on huge opportunities to develop more of our resource sector, more of our logistic sector, and more of the business sector. We're losing all the spin-off jobs, which would also create more jobs in Ontario and Quebec.
I find it really interesting. I'm trying to figure out what people are trying to say. Should we let people sit on unemployment insurance when there's a good job out there? If there's a good job there, some still choose to finish off their EI. They figure after their EI runs out maybe that job will still be there, maybe it won't, but it won't matter.
There has to be some sort of an incentive system to get them back to work. I think that's what we're doing. The goal is to make sure we see some productivity out of these folks.
Mr. Clemens, Mr. Marston had asked you a question about poverty lines, and I'm going to let you answer it.