Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Before I start, I'd just like to send a huge thank you out to every witness today. You represent the people, the workers, who have been supporting our communities through the toughest time that all of us have ever lived through. You truly are the frontline infantry of our system, and while it is very challenging work, Canadians are grateful. Canada has fared fairly well compared to many of our peer nations, and that's because of your hard work and the hard work of your members. We can't thank you enough.
I have a couple of questions. I suppose my first question will be directed to either the Ontario Medical Association or the Canadian Nurses Association. I was just looking over some of the data provided to us from the Library of Parliament, and I always like to see where Canada ranks internationally among some of our peer countries. I used to be an athlete, and it was always good to see where you were at compared to your competition—not to suggest health care is a competition, but it is nice to see where we rank. We all know there aren't enough doctors and nurses in Canada, but it's good to know whether they're on the rise or going in the opposite direction. The data indicates it has been on the rise, just not quickly enough. It hasn't kept up to our population, and it probably wasn't even adequate 20 years ago either.
It's clear, and I think we all agree, that we need to increase the workforce. That's an obvious statement, I suppose, but the next question is how.
I spoke with a constituent today who is a neighbour and a good friend. She is a personal support care worker, and she would like to become a nurse. We were discussing how she could go about that. She has two kids, so it's going to be challenging financially for her. From the Canadian Nurses Association's perspective, how can Carley find the support that's necessary to go from the work she's doing now and join the workforce as a nurse?
Also, perhaps you could touch on the impact that immigration and foreign credential qualifications might have in ensuring we have the workforce necessary to continue on.