Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  I think there's certainly room for that kind of conversation. I do know, for example, that on many large infrastructure projects with federal funding there are buy Canadian requirements, particularly on transit projects and so on. Further to Jerry's point, I think anything that can support the reindustrialization of Canada is a good thing.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Sure, Mr. Housefather. Thank you very much for the question. It's fair to say that our offices in the U.S. have the ear of some influential members of Congress and influential members of the Senate. I think the dynamic here, not to oversimplify it, is that sometimes good politics doesn't make good public policy.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  I could take a shot at the beginning. Maybe you can repeat the second part of the question. Certainly in terms of the aluminum production that you refer to, and the steel production, cement production, our electricity-generation capacity and how clean that all is, you can look at our supply chain and how close we are to the United States of America.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Our brothers and sisters and the leadership of North America's Building Trades Unions are aligned with supporting Canadian workers. To that extent, they certainly are supportive of our initiatives. I do think that in terms of a longer-term strategy, we need to leverage this green procurement.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  We certainly are working with our counterparts in Washington, D.C. I'll be interested to hear what Ken has to say, because his is also an international union. I can also add that the Canadian embassy has been very active on this file as well and has reached out to the leadership, the Canadian directors of the building trades.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's very nice to see you, and members of the committee as well. Thanks very much for everything you do for Canada, and particularly for the important work of this committee. My name is Sean Strickland. I'm the executive director of Canada's Building Trades Unions, the Canadian arm of North America's Building Trades Unions, an organization composed of 14 international unions and over three million workers.

Human Resources committee  Those are great questions. I can't answer the question with respect to system designs and computers and so on. I did say earlier that I think training should be separated from employment insurance. We should be able to provide the right kind of focus on the income support program, which employment insurance is, and put a singular focus on training.

Human Resources committee  Thank you.

Human Resources committee  Mr. Chairman, may I add a final comment, absolutely quickly? I think the time for major reforms is now, and you can do that within the window of sustainability.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much for the question. I do remember the accident that you're referring too. Unfortunately, I'm sure that each member would be able to point to an example of a similar accident in their own riding. I think it's important to recognize that generally construction is a lot safer now than it was a long time ago.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much for the question. It's a very important issue for the construction industry. The only really substantive data provincially on this is from Ontario. As I indicated earlier, it's $1 billion to $3 billion a year, but you can take that on a percentage basis and roll it right across the country.

Human Resources committee  This is a huge issue, and you heard the stats that I reported from the Ontario Construction Secretariat just for Ontario alone: $1 billion to $3 billion a year. What happens is this: I'm a contractor. I have to hire 10 people to perform my work. Rather than bringing them onto my payroll, I describe them as independent operators.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much for the question, Mr. Long. I really appreciate it. Thanks for remarking on the relationship with Matt from IBEW and Steve from the operating engineers. I'm sure they're watching. I'm sure Arlene, whom I've known for a number of years, is not watching. She's busy working on issues in the New Brunswick legislature.

Human Resources committee  I know Arlene's been active on the small modular reactor file as well. That's something we're really encouraged about. It is related to my remarks in terms of transitioning workers from the traditional oil and gas energy sector into the new energy projects of the future. Projects like small modular reactors, hydrogen and carbon sequestering are going to take large capital investments.

Human Resources committee  Apprentices have to go through an in-school portion for training. Depending on your trade, it dictates how much in-school training you have. In various jurisdictions in Canada we have what are called compulsory trades. Examples are tower crane operators, mobile crane operators, electricians, plumbers, steamfitters and sheet metal, just to name a few.