Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I certainly am going to make a general comment, and then I'll speak specifically to why we are not going to be supporting the NDP amendment, which I'm sure they'll be shocked at.
From our perspective, this is just proposing targeted, common sense changes to make EI a more efficient program that supports job creation and removes the disincentives to work. It really is targeted at supporting unemployed Canadians and to quickly connect people to jobs.
I think there's a lot of misinformation out there in terms of what this is going to be and what it isn't going to be.
The Minister of HRSDC announced the proposed definition for suitable employment, which is going to be based on six dimensions: personal circumstances, working conditions, hours worked, commuting time, wages, and type of work. When you take these together, they are going to ensure that Canadians look for and accept jobs that meet their skill levels while ensuring they are better off working than being on EI.
In spite of some of the information out there to the contrary, people aren't going to have to drive across the country to take a job in Fort McMurray, even though my colleague would love them to be doing that. If they're carpenters, they're not going to have to take a job that's significantly reduced. I think those dimensions are really important. These changes are going to apply to all Canadians, regardless of where they work and live. Previous labour market attachment and the use of EI would be taken into account to determine the type of work and wages to be considered when looking for a job.
Again, I have to say that this is a reasonable approach, and it really accounts for the need to adapt expectations in terms of employment.
I think some of the measures that I'm really pleased about, that I think are going to be well received by people, involve having regular information in terms of what's available, instead of what has been spotty information, and having it linked with temporary foreign workers. If there's a job 10 minutes away, do they know about it, and do they have an option to get that job perhaps before the employer has to look elsewhere, in the temporary foreign worker program?
Again, we perceive that these are going to be well-received, sensible, practical, common sense solutions, and certainly we'll be pleased to support this section and this division.