Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
My name is Jean-Claude Rocheleau and I am President of Union Local 121 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada at the Shell refinery in Montreal. For reasons of transparency, I also wish to mention that I am currently the New Democrat candidate in the Hochelaga by-election. I am accompanied by Brent Reid, Vice-President of Local 630 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union at the Catalyst Paper pulp and paper mill in Campbell River, British Columbia. I would like to thank the committee for inviting us.
First let me state that our organization supports Bill C-50 as a measure that will provide help to tens of thousands of Canadians who have been hit with full force by the current economic crisis. To give you a sense of this urgency, the current terms of the bill would likely exclude 1,100 workers at the AbitibiBowater mill in Grand Falls-Windsor, if not implemented by the end of November.
We have been informed that an amendment will be presented to maintain a January 4 starting date and we encourage you to adopt it. Despite our support for adopting this bill as quickly as possible, let us be clear and state that Bill C-50 must not be confused with the real reform that employment insurance needs at this point. It is merely a stop gap that is simply better than the status quo.
There are three points that should be mentioned in connection with this bill. About 190,000 workers will be eligible and will qualify for extended EI benefits in the next two years. This extension which varies from 5 to 20 weeks of benefits will allow workers to extend their benefit period. That is the only reason why CEP is supporting this bill. Some workers will be helped more than others, but it is still better than the status quo and it is a step in the right direction toward necessary change.
As a negotiator, in my everyday life, I believe in the step-by-step approach. I believe in taking what is on the table and continuing to work in order to improve the system. Moreover, the workers I represent at the Montreal refinery may, in the near future, be affected by the closing of the refinery, because the government is allowing the oil to go south to the United States, which is causing our refineries to close and could lead to the layoff of a lot of our members. This situation is also affecting several employees in the Montreal region who are currently laid off because of the economic context. This measure will thus come to the assistance of certain workers who need this help and need to hope that other changes will occur.
I will now yield the floor to my brother.