There's no question that Alberta has been very hard hit by the global recession. I know that southern Alberta, where you are, was facing real challenges five years ago with the BSE situation. Now it's the north that's been hit by the resources. We know that right across this country there are skill shortages in many professions, even during this recession. That's why we brought in the apprenticeship incentive grant.
We also brought in tax relief for employers who hire apprentices under this program. We want to encourage them to help young people get the skills they need. The completion grant and the incentive grant are both ongoing. These are a permanent part of the fiscal framework. Those are not temporary programs.
The other thing we're doing is helping with the tool tax credit. These people need to get their tools and they get a break on that. It's the same for textbooks.
If anyone is doing part of their apprenticeship through a college and they get a scholarship or bursary, we've made it easier for them. We've made sure, as a government, that these people aren't taxed on their scholarship and bursary income.
We want to encourage people to get the skills, and we're doing everything we can to help them get there. In fact we've launched a new program of student grants, as I mentioned earlier. It is helping 120,000 more students than were benefiting from previous programs. That's a lot. That's money they don't have to repay. That's reducing their debt burden when they graduate.
Again, we're hoping this will motivate people to get into these programs and get the skills they need for the jobs of the future.