That is correct.
In the current context, why are we witnessing the greatest labour shortage in our recent collective history when the unemployment rate is at 4.5%?
It is important to remember that the pandemic did not cause the labour shortage. The pandemic accelerated the labour shortage in some industries, in particular, the tourism, aerospace, retail and accommodations sectors. However, growth in other sectors is truly exponential. The movement of a certain number of workers underscores the importance of providing training, to increase skills. Training is a tool that will allow us to deal with the situation.
Earlier, I listened to the comments from the representative of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. One thing that she did not mention, but that we feel is important, is to extend to the end of the year the programs put in place to support Canadian businesses during the pandemic. This must be done for certain industries, especially the accommodations, food services, tourism and aerospace industries.
Why do we need to do that? It is to allow these industries to deal with another economic cycle, which will give them the capacity to strengthen their operations. Despite the circumstances, if the current supports are not maintained longer for these key, but more fragile, industries, the consequences could be catastrophic for many of them.