Thanks, Madam Chair.
Welcome, and thank you to all the witnesses for your attendance here this evening.
I'll start first, Madam Chair, with Mr. McKerlie, from Mohawk College.
Welcome, Ron, to the committee.
I want to pick up on the immigration theme that you talked about earlier in your recommendations. One consistent message we've heard from witnesses to date—and I think Mr. Schiavo was very succinct in his comments—is that it is a global labour market and there is fierce competition.
When there are discriminatory immigration practices in place—and we witnessed this during the last U.S. administration—I think we recognize what kind of an effect it has on the labour market and the impact it has on attracting and retaining top talent. We noticed the brain drain in the U.S., and Canada was the beneficiary of that for a number of years.
I would ask, through you, Madam Chair, to Mr. McKerlie, how important is it for us to have immigration policies and legislation in place that actually attract people from other parts of the world and to have a message that says to the rest of the world—especially those young people who are looking at colleges and universities here in Canada—that we're open for business and we welcome immigrants from all areas of the world?