Thank you, Mr. Chair. You're firm, but fair.
When it comes to the essential skills, one of the things that we've heard in testimony, and I've actually experienced in my riding, is that we're focused on immigration. When we focus on immigration, we focus on skilled labour, which requires you to pass an English test, an IELTS test, or a French test. That actually is sometimes a disconnect in terms of the job requirements that are needed. You don't need to have that much proficiency in English reading or writing to be able to complete some of the jobs that are essential for economic growth.
I'm very supportive of your organization and I think that everybody should have the basic skills, but I feel like there's almost a disconnect. At a certain age we're not going to invest in teaching because they're happy, they're moving forward, they're able to work and put food on the table, and this isn't their number one focus.
From an earlier life stage, in terms of making sure that new Canadians who have children are making sure that they have the opportunity to complete their high school education, I think that's where our focus should be as a government.