Human Resources committee  It's definitely something we recommend. We find those programs very effective. Once you've broken down a barrier in one company or business, often because of the cross-sectoral work, the effectiveness of those approaches also transports over to other companies in other sectors.

Human Resources committee  Perhaps I can start, Paul. The report that I'll be forwarding to the committee from the association is a report that we did similar to the one you have in your kit. It's on programs and services for immigrants, and in it we identify a number of the other challenges. We also speak to some of the programs that are being done by colleges and their community-based partners—again that wraparound community approach—to transition people into employment, into the workforce, as well as work being done on the barriers with national-level companies, such as the Royal Bank, which was one of our partners.

Human Resources committee  Yes. In advance of the announcements, we had done an analysis of ready-to-go projects in the country, so we knew that a number of the institutions had the plans in place, had the permits in place to move readily because of this capacity shortfall. The application deadline was the end of March.

Human Resources committee  Yes, and as we mentioned in our brief, the infrastructure money is making a dent in the critical shortage of infrastructure for colleges in the country. It needs to move forward. It certainly will be a big step. It also helps to provide the training venues that are so critical for the productivity of the future.

Human Resources committee  We know that if there are grants for the first two years of post-secondary institutions, low-income people tend to stay in post-secondary education, but the amount of the grant currently is insufficient.

Human Resources committee  The Association of Canadian Community Colleges and our members are probably one of the largest providers of immigrant integration programs in the country. The association is running the first three pilot projects for Canada overseas, so between the time immigrants are accepted for immigration to Canada and when they come, typically eight or nine months, in Guangzhou, in Delhi, and in Manila we provide a service where we work with those potential immigrants in terms of doing the links to the credentialing agencies while they're still in their home country.

Human Resources committee  One of the biggest challenges is that over the last 15 years or so there has been more fragmentation in terms of the programs. So a lot of the funding mechanisms are now project based; the partners and communities are sometimes competing against each other in order to do program delivery for the same client group.

Human Resources committee  There are countless examples of programs, particularly for low-income people to access post-secondary education or literacy and bridging programs. They are not quite as radical as that, but certainly.... We'll use Burns Lake, B.C., as another example. There were 20 students in an aboriginal-based community learning program for community health care.

Human Resources committee  Yes. Certainly, Joan is also a member of the national board of directors of our association. We work very closely with her. Perhaps I can give another example. I was president of the college in Saskatoon, and during one of the downturns in the economy, what we were able to do in partnership with the industry--and this is indicative of the colleges and institutes across the country--is partner with the local industries to use plant facilities that were underutilized.

Human Resources committee  The colleges train early childhood educators. Our premise is that education during the first four years of a child's life is critical as an underpinning for future learning.

Human Resources committee  Thank you. It's a pleasure to appear here on behalf of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. Our association represents Canada's 150 colleges, institutes of technology, CEGEPs, polytechnics, and some university colleges. With a thousand campuses in all regions of the country, we're urban, we're rural, we're aboriginal, we're francophone, and we're anglophone.