Thanks to both of the presenters for coming before us.
Recently there have been many reports about high unemployment and also the high number of temporary foreign workers. I'm sure that's not news to anybody. But the alarming figure that came out was that 39% of Canadians looking for work were giving up on ever finding a job. So there is that malaise and the danger that comes with it, when you have a large number of people withdrawing from even entering the job market.
Yet we know that there are quite a few restrictions on how funds can be used for skills development. At this time, we have an historic low for EI access. All kinds of restrictions have been put on it. We don't have time to discuss that here, but fewer than four in 10 of the unemployed are actually eligible to collect EI. Because of this, access to training becomes really restrictive. Can you comment on this?
Also, can you comment—and this is directed to you, Mary-Lou—on the consequences of such limited access especially for Canadians seeking longer-term employment opportunities? How do you think access could be improved?