I believe the situation may get even worse because once we fall back into that vicious cycle — I see too many families in that predicament in Northern Ontario — particularly if the economic situation is bad, the generation that follows will be facing even more of a challenge. We have to break that vicious cycle.
In Northern Ontario, there is a tradition, though: people live off the land, or from mining or forestry. In the past, they didn't necessarily need training. But the market has changed —it's a little like the fisheries in Eastern Canada — radically. The people we call Ontario's first generation are not a first generation of new Canadians; they are the first generation not to have access to a post-secondary education. The rate in Northern Ontario is among the highest. We just cannot go on that way. If our youth are unable to write their own name or prepare their own resume, try and imagine what their chances of survival are, either in the trades or any other type of employment. It's an impossible situation.