Thank you very much for the question.
Again, I want to thank my colleague Mr. Dhaliwal for all his work in his community. I know that he's a tireless champion for immigration, not only in British Columbia but across the country.
With regard to that draw, what I believe it signals is that we are looking at ways to welcome workers who possess a range of skills on the continuum, when it comes to meeting the urgent needs of our economy and offering workers the opportunity to transition to permanent residency status. It is an opportunity that has been created by the pandemic. It is one that I believe will help us to address, for example, the needs in our health care system, but also in other areas. For example, in building and trades, we know that there are critical infrastructure deficits right across the country, not only in big cities but in suburban Canada and right across rural Canada.
By taking an approach to this particular draw that was more inclusive, perhaps, than some of the more recent draws, we are trying to act with great agility to address the urgent needs of our economy today. Certainly, I think, going forward, we still look forward to that moment when we can welcome newcomers from abroad, but as we navigate the pandemic, we are looking internally, that is, to the domestic temporary immigration talent pool that is already within our borders, and we see that there is a chance to offer them a pathway to stay here.
That'll be good for them in the short term, it'll be good for our economy, and it'll be good for our long-term prosperity, because as you well know, Mr. Dhaliwal, we also have long-term demographic challenges that we must address. Immigration can't solve all of them, but it can help to move the needle in the right direction.