Thank you all for coming, gentlemen.
I'll be directing some questions towards Mr. Kelly.
Thank you for your presentation. I have a couple of questions. As a small business man and somebody who has been on EI, it's nice to know we have access to programs that help us get back on our feet. That's not an issue.
Page 3 of “EI Changes Through a Small Business Lens” asks, “During the past three years, have you had difficulty hiring new employees?” Really? We're looking at different industries such as hospitality, manufacturing, construction, trade, services, and resources. For the responses “very difficult” or “somewhat difficult” the responses are in the range of 70% plus.
We know we have a lot of unemployed people, but why is there such a difficulty in accessing those people who are unemployed and looking for jobs?