44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 29, 2023 02:00PM
- Mar/29/23 2:34:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is not meeting the urgency of the crisis with the steps required.
We are proud we forced this government to create a dental care program. We are proud we forced this government to double the GST credit, which will save families a lot of money. However, there is more work to be done. Economists have made it clear that a recession is very likely coming our way.
When will this Prime Minister introduce an EI system that covers all workers?
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- Mar/29/23 2:35:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canada's EI system is complex, and that is why we are focused on improving it. Budget 2023 invests in seasonal workers so that they have five additional weeks of coverage, for a total of 45 weeks. Also, in budget 2023, we propose establishing a new independent tripartite board of appeal, to hear cases regarding employment insurance claims.
In the past two years, the minister has led more than 35 national and regional round tables with workers, employers and academics. EI reform is a priority. We are on it and we will get it done.
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- Mar/29/23 2:53:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, economists are warning that a recession is very likely coming our way. The reality is that the debate is not about whether or not it is coming, but about how big or small it is.
Workers are staring down the face of a recession with an EI program that does not cover all workers. Unions, leaders and organizers have all raised the concern and alarm bells that we need an EI system that works. When will this government fix EI so that it is there for every worker?
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- Mar/29/23 2:54:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that EI benefits need to be fair, more responsive and more adequate to the needs of Canada's evolving workforce. That is why we are committed to comprehensively modernizing the EI system.
We consulted widely with unions, workers, employers and other partners so that we can build an EI system that meets the needs of Canadians for decades to come. We have already extended EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks, and with budget 2023, we propose extending support for seasonal workers until October 2024.
The minister has always said that we need to get this right. This is a priority, we are on it and we will get this done.
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- Mar/29/23 5:17:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with the member for Joliette regarding the problems with the current EI system.
I would like him to talk a little more about the importance of a good EI system in a country that is facing a recession.
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- Mar/29/23 5:17:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Elmwood—Transcona for his question and his legitimate concerns.
The government has been promising to reform the EI system since 2015. Since last fall, analysts and economists have been telling us to be careful because there is a risk of a recession. Whether big or small, there is going to be a recession.
We know that the most important automatic stabilizer in a recession is employment insurance. We know that the EI system is not working. Just four out of 10 people who lose their job are covered.
Things have gotten so bad that Minister Morneau suspended the program at the outset of the pandemic because it just was not working. He decided instead to implement costly, improvised short-term programs. That cost a fortune and it was not effective.
The EI system needs to be reformed now.
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Madam Speaker, I wish I could say that I am pleased to be speaking tonight, but that is not really the case. I would have liked to have seen my colleague's bill, or my own bill, which was introduced in the last Parliament, passed by the House to allow sick workers to fight their illness, get healthy again and get back to work. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening. I am here again tonight, and I think this is my third or fourth speech on the issue of sick workers.
We are talking about seriously ill workers who have paid into EI their whole lives. That means that there is a deduction, an EI premium, on their paycheque. That means that the employer has also paid contributions. It is an insurance program. Currently, sick workers are entitled to only 26 weeks of EI sickness benefits. We know very well that is not enough.
I believe I have repeatedly asked whether this government is a heartless one. There is a story I would like to tell. We talk a lot about statistics and data and documentation, but tonight I am going to talk about one particular person who called me last week. He asked me to speak on his behalf tonight.
I am talking about one of my constituents, Normand Chevalier, who lives in Saint‑Polycarpe. He is a worker and has been working for 50 years. I think this is the first time in his life that he has had to apply for unemployment. He is not applying for it because he does not have a job. On the contrary, he had a very good job. Quite honestly, even at 65 years old, he would have liked to continue working.
Normand Chevalier called me last week and said to me, “Mrs. DeBellefeuille, I have tonsil cancer.” It is a serious cancer. He has been undergoing treatment for 15 weeks now, and it is costing him a lot of money. He lives in the country. Saint‑Polycarpe is a rural town in the Soulanges area of my riding. There is no public transportation to the hospitals in Montreal, so he has to drive himself. He told me that he has worked his entire life and this is the first time he needed help. He has been going to radiation treatments for 15 weeks now, and he has to keep going because it is not over. If he wants to have a chance to survive, he has to continue his treatments.
He said, “You know Mrs. DeBellefeuille, I've used up my benefits.” He thought that with the government's top-up, he would be entitled to 26 weeks, but that is not the case. He began his treatments before December 18, 2022, and is not entitled to 26 weeks. He is among those who believed that because the number of weeks was increased from 15 to 26, they would at least be entitled to the additional weeks of EI sickness benefits to continue their treatments, to fight and, above all, not to worry about how they would pay their rent.
Last week, this gentleman told me that he was a driver at a company in Soulanges, that he was well liked and that he could hardly wait to get better so he could return to work. However, he was very worried because he did not know how he was going to pay his rent next month. Everyone has a story. Mr. Chevalier lives with his 16-year-old granddaughter. She, too, does not understand what is happening. Why is her grandfather, who is sick, hard-working and brave, not entitled to 26 weeks?
The bill we are debating this evening calls for 50 weeks and we support that. Some cancers require 37 to 40 weeks of treatment to get better and to beat the illness. That has been documented.
Mr. Chevalier told me that he was calling because he was so angry and he found the government to be heartless. When the minister increased the number of weeks from 15 to 26, why did she not decide that anyone who was already undergoing treatment would be entitled to 26 weeks? He said, “I thought that was how it was going to work, Mrs. DeBellefeuille.” However, he realized that the exact opposite was true.
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