Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First off, in my own province there's wide support, obviously, for this kind of initiative. The past social services minister of Saskatchewan, Janice MacKinnon, says that it would be better--and she's speaking in reference to the 360-hour proposal--to expand coverage and improve the benefits of those who have paid into the program for years but find themselves unemployed. Bill Ferguson, the president of the United Steelworkers Local 8782, says that it's going to be quite good and will give workers a little more time, that it's a good thing to extend benefits to people like that.
I think on the main there is very widespread support for the merits of the measures being taken here, and I commend you as individuals in terms of the work you did to put this together.
I guess I would like to also know, and maybe have reiterated for all of us here and for the public as well, about some of the other measures that the government has taken in the recent months to help long-tenured workers and older workers through the economic action plan. Second, how does this particular legislation before us now relate to them, to the older workers, the long-tenured workers? I'm thinking of particular things like the career transition assistance, the targeted initiative.
Could you give us a quick summary on each of those, and then talk about the extra five weeks that was in the prior proposal?