moved for leave to introduce C-336, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (labour dispute).
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table this bill as the current economic crisis is causing the loss of thousands of jobs throughout Quebec. The federal government must support workers who are losing their jobs. To that end, the Bloc Québécois is proposing a number of measures to help these individuals, such as the improvement of and increase in access to employment insurance.
I am certainly proud of this retroactive bill, which will make it possible for individuals who have lost their jobs as a result of a labour dispute, whether a lock-out or a strike, to become eligible for employment insurance benefits. Individuals who lose their jobs after a long labour dispute do not accumulate the hours of employment required to qualify for employment insurance. Henceforth, eligibility will be based on the number of weeks worked prior to the dispute in question, no matter how long it lasted.
Therefore, this bill will correct a serious shortcoming in the Employment Insurance Act. I urge all members to vote in favour of this bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)