Thank you, Mr. Opula.
You have raised a number of refreshing and interesting points. I would like to examine the issue closely to make sure I understand correctly and we have all the details.
At the very beginning of your presentation, you said that there is challenge at a basic level. I noticed a sort of discrepancy based on your presentation. Many new immigrants are lacking basic skills because they come from a war zone. Perhaps their elementary school was burnt down and closed for eight years. You get the picture.
There is a problem with basic skills, but there is also the perception that, in order to succeed in life, you need to go to university. Do you see what I mean? There is a discrepancy between perception and reality.
Trades programs, which are sort of in the middle, could meet some needs. But from what I understand, the perception of trades that many immigrants have is rather negative. Yet if you come from a Canadian family form the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s or 1970s, we can all relate to those examples. One of my uncles was an electrician and he had a very nice retirement when he was 60. He was an electrician by training and, if I am not mistaken, he had two years of training. That's all.
You said that one of your suggestions is to target immigrant populations by tailoring and promoting the information about programs, and I think it is a great idea. But how do we do that? Do we translate everything in 22 languages? Do we need to explain my uncle's example to people from Mali: “Look, there was this family in 1950 and the father was an electrician. When he was 60, his house was paid off and he had a wonderful life”? We cannot wait 25 years to have a model that is easy to understand for people from Mali or Senegal who now live in Montreal.
How can we make this happen?