Thanks very much for your comments.
We had the minister here a number of months ago, and when we questioned her on the eight- to ten-week wait times for EI she was comfortable that people were getting their cheques within 23 days. But the department actually counts both those who get cheques and those who get notices of non-payment. So quite a few of those letters don't have cheques in them; they are notices of non-payment. Some people are not receiving any kind of income at all for an extended period of time. She has now been made aware of that problem, and we expect her to rectify it in a matter of weeks.
I think Mr. Mayes walked us a little closer to recommendations, but I think they are logical. It will be neat to see recommendations like that come forward in this report.
One of the other consistencies we've seen that I think is one of the most frustrating aspects—it denies young people the opportunity to be more mobile—is the mobility of those skills. The Red Seal program works in this country and we should be proud of it, but with training opportunities and apprentice work experience, we're not seeing that continuity.
Is there a particular trade out in front on this that's trying to make a difference? In the absence of a national approach to dealing with apprenticeships, is there a province out there saying.... In the province of Alberta the thirst for workers is significant. Are they dealing with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or Newfoundland and saying to their trades-training people, “Bring them to this level, or let's put together some kind of testing protocol so we can help develop this young person together”?
So is there a trade that's doing it well? Is there a province that's doing it well?