I want to focus on the migration of workers from Newfoundland to the western provinces. I spoke about that earlier, but I want to talk about it here because I know that Newfoundland is the province most affected by that migration. Earlier Mr. Rivera addressed the subject by saying that local labour would have to be retained because there is no interest in seeing it leave.
Before being a member of Parliament, I was an engineer—I still am—and I was responsible for construction projects. I'm familiar with labour shortage problems that you can have when you have a project to carry out. Mr. Power mentioned that he is used to seeing labour go from one place to another. I would like him to tell me whether he wouldn't prefer local labour to remain here in order to move his economy forward.
In the same line of thinking, since economic development is disproportionate across the country, people say they're going to work in the west. I'd like to hear your comments on that subject. Do you think our government should have other initiatives to balance labour needs in the country, instead of resorting to immigration or to temporary workers?
I'd like to heard both of you answer.