I completely appreciate what the two honourable members said; their reasoning is entirely valid and relevant. We've got a highly critical situation on our hands. Last year, the committee studied the pandemic's impact on the culture industry, and the situation is still dire today. There has been precious little in the way of help. A few programs were introduced, but self-employed cultural workers were pretty much left to fend for themselves. With the end of the Canada recovery benefit in October, they have no financial support. They have had no help since October 23, and many of them are going to have to rely on food banks to get through the holidays.
This is about making sure self-employed workers and artists in the culture sector don't end up living in poverty whenever society is in the grip of a public health emergency or anything similar to the present situation. These men and women do not qualify for employment insurance. I realize the program does not fall within the heritage committee's scope, but we are talking about people who are struggling, so we are trying to find a solution to the problem they keep coming up against.
I am entirely open to extending the model we arrive at to workers in the sports sector and other sectors that fall within the committee's purview, but I think the committee needs to prioritize this study.