At the beginning of my presentation, I said that the lack of access to benefits resulted not only in a greater rate of poverty for workers who lose their jobs, but also for their families, their region and their province. What is unfortunate, within the system, is that over time the original purpose of the plan has been hijacked, and as a result, today, a worker who loses his job and applies for benefits is considered as acting in bad faith. In fact, the legitimacy of the application is even questioned, and this happens in many ways. In my view, we are going through one of the worst periods ever. There are constraints in the regulations and there are restrictions in the application process.
Do people really want to be unemployed for a long period of time? No. They are entitled to 55% of their previous income which, in most cases, was already quite low. So if these people receive employment insurance benefits, they will be in a position to look for work. However, some of these workers do not even have enough money to take the bus.