Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The purpose of amendment BQ-8 is to change the employment insurance benefit rate from 55% to 60% of insurable earnings, so that unemployed people are able to meet their basic needs.
I think we all understand that people who are receiving employment insurance benefits do not necessarily use the money to buy 70-inch televisions. No, they use it to pay their rent, to heat their homes, to feed their children. In fact, 55% of your income, especially if it is not high, is not very much money. It is difficult to make ends meet. These are the reasons we are moving amendment BQ-8.