Concerning skills shortage and migrant labour, the CLC questions the employers' promoted myth of a widespread skills shortage in Canada.

20. Notes that ASEAN still has advantages over India because of higher labour productivity, a skilled workforce and low land prices; notes also that ASEAN has the goal of setting up a single market by 2020, although some members, including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, are pushing for the target date to be brought forward to 2015; is concerned, therefore, that intra-regional trade in SAARC is still low; considers that there are too many exceptions for the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) to be treated as a standard FTA; notes that ASEAN ministers recently discussed proposals for a wider trade zone with other Asian nations, ...[+++] including India, China, Japan and South Korea; calls on SAARC to continually review opportunities to expand trade and investment in the region; considers that in its relations with India, the EU should take an inclusive regional approach and calls on the EU to institute a "vision group" similar to what has been done for ASEAN, to explore future opportunities for EU-SAARC relations;

I. whereas, following a Council recommendation, this fifth assessment report on the Charter concerns three of its ten lines for action, education for entrepreneurship, better regulation and overcoming skills shortages,

Mr. Inky Mark: But that's the reality, that 60% is allocated for skilled labour and the remaining 40% is split between family reunification and refugee protection, so you've got a window of probably 20%. Mr. Shan Padda: But when we talk about skilled labour, the people who come as skilled workers have families, and then the families fall behind because they come under a quota system, where 50% wait another four years.

13. Access to skilled, trained and adaptable labour is important for European industry so as not to lose competitiveness vis-à-vis the outside world; education must therefore be dynamic and adapted to social change and the needs of the labour market;

Mr. Stéphane Bergeron (Verchères, BQ): Mr. Speaker, more specifically, and since the skilled labour required to do this type of work does not always meet the program's criteria, which means there could be a shortage of skilled workers, is the minister prepared to make his criteria more flexible so as to quickly allow for the hiring of competent workers who can help our maple syrup producers recover from such a disaster?