Employment insurance is an important program. It's very important to review it in order to improve its accessibility and also to protect its fund. In fact, we contribute to it, and that program should support all workers who contribute to it.
I went to the Magdalen Islands a few weeks ago. The women who live there showed me another adverse consequence. For example, there are a lot of seasonal workers there. If a woman can't plan her pregnancy in accordance with seasonal employment, she is not hired because her pregnancy is too advanced when the seasonal employment begins. She is out of the employment market for at least a year and a half and thus no longer has access to parental insurance benefits. There's really a big problem.
You have to sit down, review this program and protect this fund, which should belong to workers. The Guaranteed Income Supplement is one of the measures that enable us to sleep soundly at night, in Canada and in Quebec. That way, we ensure that no seniors die of hunger. I think we agree with KAIROS on this subject.
The fight against poverty should be a priority. It is unacceptable for these programs to be so complex that people, mostly women, can't access them. If I owe money because I made a mistake on my income tax return, that money is claimed from me. It should be the same when the government has not granted access to information to people who are often disadvantaged. We should make every effort to ensure that every elderly woman and man who is entitled to this supplement receives it. That should be a priority.