I appreciate Mr. Godin's comments. I understand his view.
It is through the efforts and work of the members of our caucus—people such as Pablo Rodriguez, J.C. D'Amours, Rodger Cuzner, Dominic LeBlanc, Robert Thibault, and many others—that we have arrived at what we think is a reasonable compromise.
We know it doesn't go as far as some would like, but we think it provides a good balance to the system.
After putting the EI system back on a solid footing in the 1990s, it is time to say that we have workers, largely in areas of high unemployment, who through no fault of their own are out of work, and we shouldn't penalize them for that.
Thank you.