Thank you to the member from Brantford–Brant for his great presentation, which I really enjoyed listening to. I’m very excited about how we’re building the skilled trades in the province and making those jobs that are great alternatives for young people of all kinds. We’re getting women and men into the skilled trades which is so exciting. They’re exciting careers with six-figure incomes. They’re jobs for life. They’re purpose-driven and in demand.

The member from Brantford–Brant mentioned his son who is becoming an electrician. I’ve met a lot of young people who maybe aren’t really excited by what they can learn at university, but they are excited by being able to make things, to fix things, to do things, and they have a special gift. I just wondered if you could share a little bit about how the skilled trades option is being developed and how we’re reaching a whole bunch of young people to give them meaning and purpose in their lives through those skilled trades.

Thanks to the member from Essex. I’m the proud parent of a skilled trade worker, an electrician. It is a long, long journey, and there are barriers for those apprenticeships and in the educational system.

The member from Essex talked with a very romantic flair, I would say, about the shop classroom and the industrial program and his teacher. I’m encouraged to hear Conservatives talk about these classrooms and these educational settings that are needed to encourage folks to get into the skilled trades. However, two obstacles remain: Premier Harris ripped out some of those classrooms, so we need the infrastructure, and there aren’t many Mr. Grodzinskis or Mrs. Grodzinskis as qualified teachers in the province of Ontario. So perhaps the member could address how the government is going to tackle those barriers.