Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
We've heard very worthwhile testimony here today.
Once a tradesperson reaches the Red Seal level, then the degree of mobility across this country is excellent. The trades have come very far over the last number of years in that realm. However, it's been really frustrating; we've heard from employers and from apprentices themselves that while they're going through their apprenticeship, it's really frustrating.
We had a case in Nova Scotia that you're probably aware of. An apprentice had gone out to Alberta, which is not uncommon for Nova Scotians—we're sort of a foreign worker breed ourselves in Cape Breton—and when he came back to Nova Scotia, they wouldn't recognize the hours he'd worked in Alberta. I mean, that had to really frustrate him.
What you guys have, Mr. Grimshaw, in that joint apprenticeship committee is a common sense approach. I think there's great fairness in it. The employers see the merit in it. The apprentices see the merit in it. If you're a Red Seal worker and you're charged with the responsibility of bringing a young guy along as an apprentice, then I'm sure you'd appreciate knowing that this guy knows a certain degree before he lands on the job.
Why can we not take that template, apply it in some kind of a national program, and have a national approach to addressing developing apprentices, trade by trade or whatever? What you guys are doing is good. Could we broaden the scope of that plan?