Human Resources committee  I'd like to say that I think the economy will perform okay in the future, and it has great potential for growth--but only if immigration in the region increases. Without immigration, we're going to stay at 1.4, that kind of number. Just to give you the numbers for New Brunswick,

Human Resources committee  I think it's a good idea; however, it has to be implemented in such a way so as not to hurt the ones it's meant to help. I'm going to go to the extreme and give you an example of what I mean. Last year at the federal labour code hearings, someone next to me was representing peop

Human Resources committee  Yes, you are right. In the study we did, there were 11,500 vacant jobs in New Brunswick, 12,000 in Nova Scotia and 2,500 in Prince Edward Island. The question is really very simple. Your analyst can access all our figures; they are in the presentation I provided. We asked employ

Human Resources committee  If you'll allow me to answer, I disagree slightly with the OECD studies, just because I know from experience that it's much easier to measure formal training. The Maritimes especially tend to do a lot of informal training. If you take the Island as an example, there is a lot of a

Human Resources committee  I'm sure there are other reasons, but just looking at the numbers—

Human Resources committee  First, in my opinion, would be a way of educating them. I don’t know how to say it in French, but it would be a handout about the value of employees of that kind. Sometimes that is enough. Small business owners are very tuned in, which is not happening in big business. We can giv

Human Resources committee  I represent the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and many employers. I hear similar stories every time we publish a report or say there are vacant positions. The telephone rings all day and some people, 57- year olds, for example, ask me where they can go to work, what

Human Resources committee  Yes. If you will permit me, I agree with you entirely that the message is not completely true. But I am going to ask you a question. I am an immigrant. When I arrived in this country, I did not speak either of the two official languages well. The first time someone hired me,

Human Resources committee  Good afternoon, fellow panellists, and especially honourable members of the committee. I am Andreea Bourgeois. I am senior policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. I represent over 11,500 members in Atlantic Canada. I just want to make it clear that