Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I want to congratulate you and Mr. Shields on a great day one of Movember. Both of you are off to a great start. I'm sure Phil and I are going to catch you in the long haul—eh, Phil?—but it will be a big finish.
Ms. Murphy, I had a group of lab techs in from Atlantic Canada this week. They felt that in most of the health service areas, with the number of seats that have been added in institutions in Atlantic Canada, they were going to be able to fill job openings in Atlantic Canada. The areas in which they were having problems were placements and work experience. What they're saying is that in some of the rural hospitals where, let's say, historically they have had three lab techs, they now have one. The additional focus of mentoring somebody and training somebody is putting additional strain on capacity.
First, talk about the number of seats that have been developed to accommodate the demand. Are we turning away people who are applying? Are there enough seats there?
Then also talk about those training opportunities. Is there no financial incentive there, or is there a void in the number of people who are able to provide the training?