Mr. Speaker, I am interested in a few things. Some parts of the motion definitely have some merit. When it talks about “targeted initiatives to strengthen skills, job-readiness and successful workplace participation among First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and other Aboriginal peoples”, and also when it talks about “measures to reduce financial barriers that now stand in the way of students”, it has some merit.
The Government of Canada now is introducing new measures that provide strong incentives for employers to hire new apprentices, so it goes along with some of these things in this motion. There is an apprenticeship incentive grant, which provides grants to apprentices for the first two years. There is an apprenticeship job creation cash credit. Some of these kinds of things really mesh with the spirit of this particular opposition motion.
I have a question for the member opposite. The Canadian government now stands in a place where it is helping apprenticeship programs and creating grants and tax deductions for tools to help tradespeople with the cost of tools. Does the member not agree that this would attract more people into apprenticeship programs and support their training, which indeed is a good aspect of some of the good spirit of this motion?
Although there are some things in the motion that I have questions about, does the member not agree that the apprenticeship programs and the kinds of things that the government has put in place are very useful for apprentices in our nation?