Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Senator Bellemare, your interest in EI and EI reform is well known in this chamber.

I was struck by Senator Ringuette’s interventions and her conversations with the two EI commissioners who were less than completely forthcoming, perhaps because the question was not asked directly or indirectly. I’m not able to say.

You have a bill before this chamber, and your proposal is to create an advisory council to the Canada Employment Insurance Commission. Do you believe that the presence of such an advisory council would have helped the two EI commissioners answer the questions more fulsomely?

[Translation]

Hon. Dennis Glen Patterson: Senator Bellemare, since 2014, the House of Commons committees have twice recommended a restoration to one EI zone for P.E.I., and you’ve talked about reforming the EI system. Out of respect for Prince Edward Islanders, let’s not confuse their specific issue with the larger matter of EI reform that you’ve advocated.

Is it not the role of the Senate to work on behalf of our regions and address issues of regional interest first?

[Translation]

Senator Yussuff: Senator Deacon, I very much appreciate the issue that you spoke about, in terms of not having enough people to fill jobs in this country. But I think it’s a stretch, because you do not have one shred of evidence to suggest that the workers in this particular zone that we are speaking about are incentivized to stay home. There is lots of data, and certainly the system exists, that if a worker fails to take a job that’s available, they will be cut off from EI.

I understand there are not enough people to fill jobs that exist in certain regions of the country, but we also have to appreciate that we have regional economies in certain sectors of this country. It’s not just in P.E.I. — it’s throughout many parts of the country — and the EI system has had to adjust to deal with this reality. In certain parts of Quebec, there is a regional economy. They have an EI zone that takes in that particular region and recognizes a regional economy.

I want to be honest because I don’t think this is what you intended to say. Workers, for the most part, struggle with life, and it’s not fair to suggest that somehow they’re lazy or they don’t want to go to work. I know many of them. I have represented them my whole life. I understand that we need to make sure workers have the skills and the ability to take jobs, when jobs are available, so they can continue to work, but I don’t think it’s fair to suggest that this particular region, in the province of P.E.I., is being incentivized to stay home. Senator Deacon, maybe you can clarify this through some data or statistics to help me feel more comfortable with regard to your statement.

Senator C. Deacon: Thank you, Senator Yussuff. That is the primary reason I recommend that it be studied by the Agriculture Committee. I am disappointed that I am no longer a member of the Agriculture Committee. I would like to be engaged on this topic because it’s crucial. When there are two zones, and there are jobs available in one zone but not in the zone you are in — in a place as small as Prince Edward Island — we’re not creating the circumstances, in my mind, where we are managing a system to ensure that all jobs are filled in order to make sure the economy is as strong as it can be.

Right now, there is a massive challenge of labour shortages that is getting worse because there is not enough housing, not enough construction workers and not enough workers to keep these businesses going. I am really hoping that the questions that you and Senator Ringuette have asked are studied and looked at by the Agriculture Committee, because I think it is important.