Thank you very much for the question.
Like you, this is an issue that's near and dear to my heart, as I'm someone who got my first degree from a university at 28 years old as a single mother with two children in tow. It was a struggle. It was very difficult. I was lucky. I had some supports in terms of family and that kind of thing.
Nonetheless, it increased my earning potential dramatically. I went to a place where I was able to provide for my children in an equitable way in terms of their peers. In fact, both of them now have college diplomas. When we talk about breaking intergenerational poverty, this is key.
I'm excited about the measures we're taking to support adult learners and to support people who want their next job to be a better job. One of the things we want to do is to make sure that it's easier for them to get the financial support they need through improvements to Canada student loans and grants that will allow part-time students or people who have dependent children to receive a bit more financial security, so they can take that leap into the unknown and take on the additional stresses of being a student as an older person.
Also, we want to make sure that when people are on employment insurance, they have options that include education and retraining. That's why we'll be making changes to employment insurance so that people can receive EI payments while they go back to school. This is something that I think is very prudent for this government to do, because what it recognizes is that people need opportunities and support to invest in themselves, and when they invest in themselves, the dividends are immense.