Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his comment. The reality is unemployment is with us and it is at exceptionally high levels.
Let me clarify one thing. As more people find work in this country we have a labour participation rate. Over 600,000 people in the last three years have found work and more people are stepping up to the pedestal saying they want to get into the labour market as well. This is partially why the rate is at 10 per cent.
The member possibly did not understand all of what I said. I said that through research and technology and our educational institutions we have to give the people of Canada new skills. A lot of that 10 per cent figure has to do with what I would call structural unemployment.
The bottom line is the economy has not changed. It is unfortunate but true. It is no different than if we had lived at the time of the industrial revolution when we changed from the horse to the iron horse, the railway. It is the same kind of technology which exists today. We can improve that but there is no quick fix. There is no quick fix for the unemployment rate. The real long term fix will be to underpin the brain power of this nation. I am suggesting that is what the report addresses and beyond.
Perhaps the member did not see the first part of the title. The first part is: "1997: The Budget and Beyond". It is the beyond that is important. It is the beyond that builds on the technological excellence we have always had in this country and tries to include all those people who for various reasons are unable to find work, long term work or skilled work. We are developing a society of skilled and unskilled workers. We have to lower our pool of unskilled workers and increase our pool of skilled workers. This is what the report has recognized as the pathway to the future.