Mr. Chair, we support this clause. My colleagues across the way will be very happy to hear that.
Let's just clarify that this fixes a mistake that was made by the government, again in another omnibus budget bill that was rushed too quickly. Too much was crammed into one bill and there was too short a timeframe to consider it. That's when mistakes get made. Just as we are fixing the mistake of doubling the taxes that credit unions pay, which we fixed in another clause here, this clause fixes a mistake that the Conservatives made when they penalized fishermen and women, costing them EI benefits.
We fought hard against these changes at the time because we knew it was penalizing unemployed workers and it hurt particularly those in Atlantic Canada who depend on seasonal work like fishing.
We're glad to see that the Conservatives are fixing one of their more egregious mistakes, but we think that they should go further and repeal the EI changes that have already been condemned by premiers, workers, employers, and a variety of experts.
This clause fixes the mistake that the Conservatives made, but we think that the overall package of changes they made were a big mistake for Canadian workers and that they should be amended as well.
Thank you.