Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you so much to all of the witnesses today. All of the presentations were great.
I was reading from Statistics Canada, that employers were looking to fill 69,000 positions in construction work in the fourth quarter of 2021. That number is just remarkable.
I was recently walking down the street near my home, and a gentleman shouted out to me, “Hey, do you need a job?” I said, “No, I'm okay right now.” Then I asked, “What job are you offering?” It was for a crew doing some construction work. That's the first time it's ever happened to me that someone offered me a job just walking down the street, so you can tell that there's a need out there.
This impacts, obviously, people's residences and our economy. It's a very serious issue. I know that in my city and right across the country.... In Toronto, there's about a 17.5% unemployment rate for youth. Across the country, I think the number's almost 14%.
How do we tap into that next generation of potential construction workers? I'm assuming the pay is quite good. There's a lot of work out there, and it's highly skilled. This question is to Kevin Lee and to Mr. Collins-Williams. What are we doing to actually tap into that next generation of young unemployed people?