Thank you.
I'd like to thank Ms. Gladu for introducing Bill C‑228. Mr. Ste-Marie brought up the cross-party effort to discuss and amend the bill in a very collegial manner. I think that's a wonderful way to do things.
I will tell you the history of the bill. Ms. Gladu is aware that this bill came from the people. I, for one, can say that my constituents have been asking for a bill like this. Someone mentioned the last session of Parliament, but people have been talking about reforming these three laws for over 20 years. So this is nothing new. The NDP has also introduced several bills—I've introduced three myself. This session, because of the elections, we're talking to the same witnesses again. For example, Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus, or CARP, supported my bill. CARP supported the bill that we almost had at second reading in June 2021.
Today, I'm hearing the entire committee, and I hope that our study can move forward quickly. I'm not saying that we'll cut corners, but we've already heard testimony on the subject. I would urge my colleagues to read the history of the bill so that we can finally get it passed. It's not perfect, but show me a perfect bill.
I'd like to see insurance included, for example. This bill is a potential solution for all Canadians hoping to recover the part of their salary that's due to them. We need to call it salary; we say pension fund, but this is a deferred salary, it belongs to Canadians. Workers decided to temporarily part with some of their salary to have a decent pension fund. They were promised something, and they should get it.
I don't have much time left, so I'd like to turn the floor over to my colleague Ms. Gladu.
What does she think could be improved? I feel she's very generous, and she was all ears when I was talking about insurance. Insurance was included in the bill I put forward because older people often need medication. What does she think about that?