SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 146

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 12, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 146 - Dec/12/22
Mr. Jacques Gourde
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent question. As legislators in the House, we have all heard about Canadians in our respective ridings who needed more weeks of employment insurance sickness benefits. That being said, there is one important thing that might convince the Liberal government. At the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, a senior official from the department told us that it would cost $1 billion to shift to 26 weeks of benefits. According to the parliamentary budget officer, to see this through, an additional $92 million would be needed for the first year, for a total of $1,092,000,000. This is a small bridge to gap to be able to provide financial security to all Canadians who are sick. Without these 52 weeks, every year we are denying 31,000 Canadians the extra weeks of benefits that they need. It is worth the Liberal Party, the party in power, taking that into consideration.
172 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border