We, the representatives of the stakeholders that contribute to the employment insurance fund, that is to say, the employers and workers, or employees, consider it important, in the initial appeal stages, when a claimant is dissatisfied with a decision or unhappy with the result of a claim, to be able to make submissions that connect with the individuals involved in the appeal process. That, moreover, is one of the demands of CSD and the four major labour groups in Quebec, which share our opinion and advocate for it.
I'm trying to make myself clear. We don't want to go back to the previous arbitration boards before an umpire and so on. We're asking that, following consultations with sectoral representatives, people from the region be appointed and trained by the Employment Insurance Commission so they can hear these cases. This would help reflect both the regional and economic diversity of many workplaces in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada as well.
It's false to say that the situation in downtown and suburban Montreal is the same as on the Basse-Côte-Nord or in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Representation has to be institutionalized, if I may put it that way.
To answer the second part of your question, we understand from the provisions in the present version of the bill that people will be appointed from the labour and employer sides. However, there's no indication of what mechanism will be used to appoint those persons. Our understanding is that they'll be accountable to the chairperson. Once again, we would like the appointment and training process to be outlined in greater detail and established more clearly. The labour associations would also like to be engaged in the representation process.