Mr. Chairman, first of all, those evaluations are interesting but not comprehensive. They don't test, for example, a separate group that didn't go through the training to see what percentage of them ended up in the labour market.
We do know that on a macro level we are not getting the job done, as governments. We are spending billions, more than virtually any other developed country, on skills development and job training, and yet we have unacceptably high levels of unemployment in various areas of our population, as I've identified, and a growing number of employers who are reporting skill and labour shortages.
The idea here is I think basically common sense: it's employers, not government programs, that create jobs. If employers identify people with the aptitude to work specific incremental training programs from which they can benefit with a guaranteed job at the end of it, we are certain that will produce better results.
Finally, let me say that I have not categorized the LMA project as a failure. I've said that I think there are some good projects that we're funding through the provinces and some that have less impressive results. I think it's a mixed bag.