Thank you for your question.
I represent all the labour federations in Quebec. During the pandemic, we saw simplified accessibility rules that greatly improved the situation, but those rules disappeared, and we're back to square one. As I said at the outset, accessibility is lacking. What's unfortunate is that the people most affected are mainly women, people who work part time or who have a precarious job. These people aren't able to qualify for EI benefits.
It's important to remember that people don't turn to EI by choice or for pleasure, and just because they have a full-time job doesn't mean that there aren't situations in life where they need that social safety net, as you so rightly said earlier. So there's that element as well.
Then there are seasonal workers. Canada is a big, beautiful country, and people say they want to revitalize our regions, but often the only jobs available in the regions are seasonal jobs. Even if these people work intensively for slightly shorter periods of time, if they find themselves in a hole, with no income, because we're unable to make benefits accessible for an adequate period of time, we're ultimately devitalizing our regions and encouraging these people to leave the regions and settle in the major centres. I don't think that's the spirit of the legislation.
The Employment Insurance Act is a social piece of legislation, and its provisions must be accessible. We've found that for people who have to go through the process to access this program, it's like climbing Everest. It's insurmountable and complex. Administrative directives aren't clear and change from one officer to the next. It needs to be made simpler and, as I said before, it needs to be made humane.