This reform is urgently needed for the following reasons.
The money that a person receives from employment insurance is not a very high income. Often, people who receive employment insurance are seasonal workers such as forestry workers: people who plant trees, which are sometimes burned down by forest fires. In Canada, trees can't be planted year-round. Depending on the season when a person is able to work, it may be that they have not accumulated enough hours of work to receive unemployment and support themselves. This is the infamous “black hole” in employment insurance. This problem, which affects a number of people, needs to be fixed.
That is not all. As I said, the threshold to qualify for employment insurance is set at 720 hours of work, but that threshold does not take into account the fact that some people only work part‑time. When you work 35 or 40 hours a week, it is not too hard to accumulate 720 hours of work, but for people who work only one or two days a week, it is harder. In my opinion, the number of hours required should be adjusted and the number of weeks worked should be considered. This would ensure that these people qualify for employment insurance. I think this is important.
The last point relates to the types of benefits. Often, people who receive other types of benefits, who are often women, unfortunately, are not able to receive employment insurance, and this creates a degree of economic insecurity. Obviously, we have to avoid excluding people insofar as possible. There are unfortunately too many exclusions. People who live in the Gaspé, on the north shore and in the lower St. Lawrence are asking the federal government, despite its promises, to understand the problem and support them. These people really need this income.