Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thanks, to all the witnesses. We certainly hope that you and your families are safe and healthy.
My first questions are for Mr. Falconer.
Thank you so much for being on the line with us. We salute machinists across the country, your members. I am very sorry to hear that you have front-line members who are now impacted by the virus, who caught the virus in their workplace. We certainly hope that they get better soon. Please pass on what I know would be unanimous support from the committee that we are thinking of them.
I am shocked, Mr. Falconer, about your comment that there are employers not supplying protective equipment. You were referencing, I believe, the airline industry. My concern is whether there are measures and protocols for social distancing. Is there access to personal protective equipment? What measures need to be taken to protect your members? What do you need from the federal government?
You also flagged in your important testimony that you have members who will be unemployed but cannot access the emergency benefit. We've heard from other witnesses already today that there are many people who are excluded from this benefit. Would it not be more effective, as others have said, to provide a universal benefit, tax it back for those who don't need it, and speed up the benefits going to Canadians?
Those are my questions, to start.