Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to begin by thanking you for taking the time to come meet with us and make your presentations.
I heard every one of them. Based on many of your comments, the debate could be taken further. I personally believe that it is the role and duty of the government, in this case the federal government, to provide the tools needed to make employment accessible and promote a nationwide child care system.
I have an 18 month old daughter, and I know it is a challenge every single day. I can imagine how hard it must be for parents with low incomes to see the bulk of what they earn go to pay for child care or the Early Childhood Development Program. I know how important these programs are to the development of our children. I am not home very much, but whenever I am, I see a change, and it is surely because of that.
You talked about training. We have to be able to help people who are already working, but we also have to start at the beginning, for example, by providing literacy support. We have to be able to allow workers to keep on working and give them the tools they need to do their job and at the same time minimize the risks. That means also being able to offer our young students—and we have with us here a young woman who is doing her master’s—programs that enable them to gain experience while they are in school. These are youth programs like Career Placement, which was gutted as part of the cuts made last September 25.
Young people today are told they need experience to enter the labour market. How can they get experience if the programs that provide them with the tools they need to get ahead are cut? Does it occur to you when you see the cuts that were made in the areas of literacy, women and youth programs that the current government is trying to foster ignorance throughout Canada to give it more control over its message? Where are we going to end up if people cannot read or write properly and our youth are unable to get satisfactory work experience?
Could you share your thoughts on this with me?