Thank you.
I am going to first talk about how the federal government should contribute to finding a solution to those problems.
The federal government could encourage the provinces in their efforts. Perhaps programs could be linked. Instead of setting up programs under which the federal government offers grants to organizations so that they get involved, perhaps there is a way to set up a system so that those stakeholders can first go to the provinces for funding before they receive a complementary federal grant. Incidentally, this system is a way to solve the visibility problem that federal programs have and to add to public opinion the idea that the federal government is using a formula to solve specific problems. I think that the networking idea can be developed.
As you noticed, the idea of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association is real. Bombardier has made a great deal of effort in this area, but when we talk about this problem, we are not talking about the exceptional cases of large corporations. Unlike small and medium-sized businesses, big businesses do not have trouble finding skilled workers. They tend to work in a vacuum, whereas small and medium-sized businesses rely on the efforts of communities since they do not have the means to solve the problem.
That is why our proposals primarily pertain to the majority of employers, meaning small and medium-sized businesses. We are not forgetting what is happening in large corporations. But when they are faced with a problem, they have no qualms about finding solutions in Asia, Iran or elsewhere, and bringing foreign workers here. Small and medium-sized businesses cannot do that alone.
We feel that it is important to take steps to make it easier for employees to have access to small and medium-sized businesses and to find solutions to those problems.
Three years ago, I conducted a study on the recruitment process for skilled workers abroad. The study essentially focused on the aerospace sector.