Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
First of all, I'd like to thank you, Mr. McKenna, for being here with us today. I think you offer a unique perspective as somebody who has been a strong advocate for Atlantic Canada as a public servant, and somebody who has worked in the private sector. It gives you a more well-rounded view of the picture in Atlantic Canada.
As somebody who has worked in private industry my entire life before running for public office, I've accessed the temporary foreign worker program in Atlantic Canada and have used it in a processing industry. I've long said that I don't believe there's a direct correlation between the unemployment area in a specific geographic region and the need in that region for temporary foreign workers or an immigration stream to fill the roles that are required by industry. I think much of that relates to what you spoke to—the lack of skills development because of decades of declining population and lack of industry.
I'm wondering, therefore, how you see the federal government's role in working with the provinces and the private sector to push this agenda of immigration in Atlantic Canada. Where can we be most effective in recruitment and retention of those workers in Atlantic Canada once they're there?