Thank you.
Quite a few years ago, the Conference Board of Canada said that we are losing $5 billion in lost earnings because of immigrants not practising what they have been trained for. In February 2007, on the behalf of the New Democrats, I put out a paper that talked about the importance of getting information. Subsequently we had the www.credentials.gc.ca website, so we now have lots of information for immigrants or potential immigrants.
We also talked about the need for internship, mentorship, and bridging programs there. In that area, there is a bit of an increase, such as the pilot projects, but there is certainly not a dramatic, comprehensive program. Perhaps you can talk a bit more about the loan funds versus straight grants versus tax incentives, because there are different ways of getting into it. Some of it could be targeted to the immigrants, others to the employers. The incentives would be for the employers, and there are different types of tools.
In your mind and in your practice, what tools would work best? Are there different tools for different programs--bridging programs, mentorship programs, internship programs, loan funds, grants? How do they work? In terms of best practices, can you give a few examples?