Thank you.
I couldn't agree with you more. I think it was the day after or two days after I was sworn in, Mr. Aitchison, that I went to the Trades NL—which I was meant to speak at—annual general meeting of skilled trades unions here in Newfoundland and Labrador. It just so happened that I had the opportunity there to speak to them as the Minister of Labour. It was a treat.
I think the Canadian economy is showing a lot of signs of a strong recovery, but it's the boom in construction that's led to shortage in skilled workers, so we have to get a few things right. We're committed to doubling the union training and innovation program to $50 million a year. That's to support [Technical difficulty—Editor] training opportunities and partnerships in the Red Seal trades right across Canada. We're also working with unions to target more participation from women, indigenous peoples, newcomers, persons with disabilities and Black and racialized Canadians.
I've always said about inclusion that, if you don't include everybody, then you're excluding the best. I think you have a point about making sure that we broaden people's horizons about the need for skilled trades and the pride and dignity that comes from doing such good work.
We're moving forward on that, and we have our plan to establish a new apprenticeship service that will connect 55,000 first-year apprentices in Red Seal trades with opportunities in small and medium-sized businesses particularly.