Thank you for the question.
I would like to take this opportunity to turn a spotlight on my riding. Currently, in the northern part of my riding, Laurentides—Labelle, which is located north of Montreal from Saint-Sauveur to Mont-Laurier, the economy is based on the tourism, agriculture and forestry industries. There is a small RCM north of my riding that is facing a crisis right now, as I indicated during my testimony. The forestry industry accounts for 80% of its economy. At this time, 80% of the forestry industry is shut down or in slowdown mode. There are seven lumber mills in the area. Four have closed down for an indefinite period, one is closed permanently, and at the other two mills, operations have been cut back. This has caused the loss of 1,450 jobs in the past six months.
The people in the RCM had access to a program that allowed them to increase the period from 45 to 50 weeks. However, under the current conditions, few people qualify for the program, based on the requirements of the system. This is financially disastrous for these people.
That RCM is a single-industry community. There is no other industry or alternative to offer those workers. If the system were set up to pay back the money those people have paid in over their years of work, they could benefit from the employment insurance they have bought for themselves. This is not the case right now.