And that would be for all types of skill sets; that's what I hear from businesses from my area. Whether it's in Edmonton in manufacturing or in the hospitality industry, the number one issue they raise with me is constantly on the labour side.
I appreciate your recommendation on EI. I would say that the government has made some changes in EI and has faced a fair amount of political criticism for them. I would echo the comments from my colleague Gerald Keddy.
I want you to comment, because the temporary foreign worker program is often a subject at this committee. Two criticisms levelled at that program are very constant. One is that it lowers the wages of Canadian workers, and the second that it takes jobs from Canadian workers. I can tell you, and I just want you to tell the committee from your perspective, from Calgary, that there simply would not be businesses operating in my constituency, if it weren't for that program.
Frankly, I go through areas.... In Niscu in my riding, I will walk through, and they'll say they have two shifts operating. Why is the third shift not operating? It's because they cannot find enough people. Plant managers actually ask me for resumés of people who would like to work on that third shift, so that the company could then employ more people, be more productive, pay more taxes, and be all around beneficial to the economy.
So I want you to comment on the temporary foreign worker program from an Albertan and a Calgary perspective.