The employment insurance program must be reviewed in order to increase accessibility, so that any unemployed person would have the right to an adequate benefit level. This means that we must make a massive investment in social housing. When I say “massive”, I am in fact asking for another $2 billion per year for the building of social housing. This also implies that we fund the Homelessness Strategy Partnership in the longer term, in order to allow advocacy groups working in this domain to continue their work. The budget has not been indexed or increased in years. We must continue funding existing social housing once the agreements signed with the federal government expire.
It speaks to the fate of the 623,000 social housing units across Canada and the 120,000 in Quebec. If these agreements are not renewed and if we do not continue funding this social housing, the low income renters living there will no longer have the means to stay. Often, the fact that they live in this housing allows them to improve their financial situation and even to escape the cycle of poverty. Thank you.