First off, we would like to have more employers like you if we could.
The long-time stand of the Canadian Labour Congress in terms of EI dollars is that we need to increase access for people. That's why we've consistently said 360 hours for all eligibility. We need to increase the benefits because, again, they are too low, and we need to increase the duration.
We agree employers need to put more skin in the game, if you want to call it that. They need to have more investment in training. For a long time we have been promoting as well a 1% training levy, similar to what they have in Quebec and what they have in other countries as well. What we need to do is make very clear that the training employers are putting into this is not to then basically keep people only in their workplace, because what people want as well are portable skills.
You're quite right that employees who feel they are being treated fairly by employers and have education opportunities will likely stay with the good employers they have. At the same time, there are circumstances where people want some portability. They need to be able to move. So yes, we agree employers need to be engaged more.
If we had a labour market partners forum, though, you would have more engagement by employers like you, but also by labour, by governments at all levels, and by the community groups that are involved in education. Yes, employers need to come in with more, but it can't be on the expectation that they're training somebody to be an underwater basket weaver for one company and not an underwater basket weaver certified for all companies.