Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning and welcome, Minister. In your statement, you say that, since April 2009, Canadians have reaped the benefits of income tax cuts set out in the economic action plan. Workers benefiting from your economic action plan are not the problem. You are well aware that the problem is the increase in the number of unemployed persons, a number that has tripled at the very least since your forecast last fall.
You boast about having extended the EI benefit period by five weeks. The problem is that a large number of the unemployed are unable to qualify for EI. One of the ways to improve the program is to abolish the two-week waiting period, a suggestion that has often been put to you during question period. I would like you to draw a parallel with your first statement, when you said that members of the G8 told you that they envied Canada for its very healthy fiscal and economic situation.
If the economic situation in Canada is so healthy, why has the unemployment rate jumped so significantly? Would it not be an opportunity to improve the EI program in order to ensure that those who lose their job can also find the economic action plan to be beneficial?