Eastern Quebec is a classic case. Fisheries and agriculture come to mind. Because of our climate, Canada has a long, harsh winter, and people generally fish in the summer. Therefore, those activities will necessarily mean that there is a period when employees are unoccupied in the winter.
The employment insurance program, as it was conceived, was a support for maintaining those jobs. If Canadians want to continue to eat lobster and shrimp, they are going to have to think about how the industry can be sustained.
Having said that, the current employment insurance program allows a person to go through a period of inactivity, which does not mean that there couldn't be job creation or economic diversification to achieve full employment.
There is no doubt that reducing this program or making access to it more difficult will certainly prevent economic diversification, even in communities that are based on seasonal employment. The tourism industry has also been greatly affected. It is important to understand that despite what you may think, hotels and restaurants require qualified staff. That is a real problem right now.
It is important to understand that if several of these rural areas that benefit greatly from tourism do not have access to qualified staff, the quality of the welcome that foreign visitors get will be affected. A large part of the economy of Quebec and Canada benefits from foreign tourism.
The employment insurance program is necessary in order to keep jobs in the regions and to allow for the diversification of economic activities in the medium term. Combining the employment insurance program with flexible assistance on the ground would make this diversification possible.
We need to understand that the employment reality in the Gaspé is not the same as in Montreal, Ottawa or Toronto. Considering an employment insurance program that could have flexible conditions across Canada would ensure that diversity.