As you say, it is seasonal work. What is seasonal is the economy, the nuance is important. People want to work. This concept that people want to work their hours and get EI benefits is quite simply not true, because bills come anyway. When people call our office and they're in a tight spot, we have to help them, things have to go on. They are on the edge of the “black hole” and there are some people who are in it right now, meaning that their work has not resumed and their benefits have run out. What can we do with that? What can we do with these people? There are very long periods between the time work starts and the time benefits run out. This is a reality in our neck of the woods and elsewhere, but I am going to talk on behalf of my region.
I have been working at the MAC for 23 years, and the situation has never been as dramatic as it is now. People are worried. When we talk about 490 hours in our parts, that is a lot. Last summer was terrible, as we know. It was difficult for these people to get the hours they needed to qualify for employment insurance. Three hundred and sixty hours is realistic, it is achievable, but we should not expect either that these people will only work 360 hours and then go home. That is not true, it's no longer true. Three hundred and sixty hours makes them eligible for EI. It's all fine and well to conduct pilot projects, but if people are not eligible, what is the point? There isn't one.
We need to ensure that workers can qualify and obtain EI if they lose their jobs. We mustn't forget that this is an insurance that employers and employees have paid for protection. For the government to come and interfere in this and decide how it is going to work is a bit problematic for me. In Charlevoix, this bill would have a major impact and could improve the quality of life of people in that region, there is no doubt.