Thank you very much.
Mr. Chair, thank you. Thank you, committee, for inviting me here today.
I echo Minister Finley's comments. As she has already stated, there are few things that matter more in this life than making sure our government supports and serves Canadians when they need our help the most.
There's no doubt that Bill C-44 fulfills the need. Few people are in greater need of assistance than the families with children facing catastrophic illness or the parents whose daughter or son has disappeared or has been murdered. There can also be no doubt about our government's determination to help Canadian families who have the misfortune of finding themselves in these circumstances.
Now, while our government focuses on strengthening the economy and creating jobs—our overarching objective—we also recognize that there are times when Canadian families need support to deal with exceptional circumstances. Families coping with stress and grief over the illness or loss of a child don't need to add worrying about their work to their list of woes.
Supporting working families is a priority for our government, which is clear from the many progressive measures we have introduced in Bill C-44.
In addition to the latest improvements to the EI program and the new income support grant, which has been outlined by Minister Finley, we're making significant changes as well to the Canada Labour Code to further assist families in crisis.
As a reminder, the federal jurisdiction within the Government of Canada's labour program serves about 128,000 workplaces and about a million people across the country. It's the federally regulated sectors of the economy: transportation, communications, banking, and crown corporations.
The Helping Families in Need Act amends part III of the code to give these federally regulated workers the right to take unpaid leave if they find themselves in one of these tragic situations. In sum, the jobs of parents of a critically ill child will be protected for up to 37 weeks. The parents of a missing child can count on 52 weeks of job protection. And for parents of murdered children, the amendments will provide job protection for up to 104 weeks, which is two years.
Of course, employees are not required to take this kind of leave, and indeed they're not expected to take the maximum time allowed, but they will know that it will be there if they need it.
For other employees not covered by this legislation, labour code protection varies from one jurisdiction to another. The Province of Quebec already provides generous support, and that enables parents to be absent from work in the event of a child being murdered or missing.
I'm optimistic that other provincial and territorial governments will follow our lead and that they will amend their respective labour laws to protect the jobs of parents of murdered or missing children or of children who are critically ill, because that ensures that the affected parents' jobs are protected in their specific jurisdiction. The parents could also benefit, then, from the new Government of Canada income support measures while on unpaid leave, knowing their jobs are protected in their specific jurisdiction.
Mr. Chair, enlightened employers understand that employees may very well need to take time off work to cope with psychological pressure and relentless demands associated with a critically ill, missing, or murdered child. They do recognize that workers who are simply exhausted from this, or who are under extreme stress, are less likely to be attentive, and certainly less productive.
Quite frankly, compassion is never a bad investment. Invariably it will work to the employer's benefit as well, because workers who can get the time they need to recover from a crisis are more likely to eventually return to work and to return in a better state of mind.
I'm proud to say that the Government of Canada and the federal industries that we regulate are offering this support to their employees. As we promised during election 2011, we'll be there to help Canadian parents through some of the most difficult days that they are likely to ever encounter. They look to us for leadership, and that is what it's all about.
Thank you very much. I'm happy to answer any questions the committee may have.