Okay. What you've projected here is nowhere what we're feeling and seeing on the ground in Newfoundland and Labrador regarding unemployment. There is no way the unemployment rate is over 27% in Newfoundland and Labrador. We're actually in a need of skilled trades now. I've had two calls in the last week for temporary foreign worker permits in Newfoundland and Labrador. So something's amiss here.
When I look at the other slide, slide 5, and you're talking about construction trades and the unemployment rate for Canada being up around 12%, that doesn't jibe with what I'm hearing on the ground back home.
Vale Inco is spending $2.8 billion on a smelter in Newfoundland and Labrador, and they're actually in a labour shortage in Newfoundland and Labrador. One of the things I'd like to just quote is this. I just today actually got their little update from their project on Long Harbour. Dan Donnelly, who's the construction manager says:
“Labour availability is one of our most pressing concerns right now,” Donnelly said. “It has the potential to put us off schedule, which in turn could put us over budget. So we're working aggressively to address this problem. Incidentally, this skills shortage is not unique to our project. Other major developments that are coming down the pipe are anticipating similar challenges. On the plus side, there has never been a better time for a skilled tradesperson in this province and country.”
When I met with Vale a little while ago, I found that it is actually applying for temporary foreign workers to supplement the Canadian supply.
So I'm a bit thrown off by your statistics here and what we're actually feeling on the ground in Newfoundland and Labrador and the need for craft labour in the province and the country. They say there is some construction labour available in Atlantic Canada, but again, temporary foreign workers are required to supplement the Canadian supply.
So I'm not seeing how these statistics jibe. I don't know if you have any comments on that.