Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
When it comes to literacy, we need to be clear. I think that our friend Ms. Yelich from the Conservative Party, gave us an accurate account of what is being targeted. It's true that organizations are being targeted, and not programs, but at the end of the day, that's tantamount to targeting every program.
Who puts these programs together? Who submits these projects to government? The organizations do. Who supports these projects? The organizations do. Who brings these projects to fruition? The organizations do. What's being targeted? Savings far in excess of $17 million is what is being targeted: they want to put an end to these programs.
An analogy may be made with the restaurant industry. When you announce you're going to make staff cutbacks, and maintain that your food will be just as good because you'll continue to buy good products, well if you have no one to put together the menu, if you have no one left to prepare a service project or to recruit staff, your clientele will run a mile. It's exactly the same, in my opinion.
Fortunately, Aboriginal groups often come back to this issue. And I think that it's time we made it our business to seek out this segment of the labour force. Would I be making an accurate appraisal of the situation were I to say that these workers should be adequately prepared before they arrive on the labour market? This is a segment of the labour force which has been sidelined and which, in my opinion, doesn't have the same work culture as White people. They have a work culture, but it's not the same. So don't you think a program should be developed in order to prepare Aboriginal workers for the labour market, and its various sectors?