You don't need to subsidize a particular industry. One suggestion we've made to the Minister of Finance and HRSDC a number of times is that you can do it through employment insurance in terms of a travel grant. Instead of paying people for 26 weeks, or a number of weeks, you give them their money up front. Then they can get on a train, plane, or automobile and go to where the work is.
The other way to do it is like the home renovation tax credit. You go out and spend the money on a plane or train ticket to go where the work is, and then you get the money back on your taxes.
In fact, I believe one of the NDP members at the last committee hearing asked me to table the costing for that, and I did, so you should be able to have a look at that. The clerk got it mid-March.
It wouldn't be subsidizing industries, but I think at the end of the day, there are certain occupations in demand. You could choose based on economic demand in certain regions which occupations are most in need, and then apply those rules to those occupations. I don't think that would be subsidizing an industry. I think it would be addressing economic need in different regions.
To summarize, the grant through EI is like an upfront payment for travel, or a tax-credit-based system for travel. I think there's an NDP bill, actually, which goes over the tax credit issue. It's a non-partisan issue, but I think it's one that could be addressed fairly easily.