Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I certainly hear Mr. Hamilton. A mayor of any community that loses any jobs finds it devastating, not to say the huge amount that you experienced of 4,500. You mentioned that re-qualifying for EI was one of the aspects, but there were other stimuli injected. I'm not sure whether EI is the right mechanism. There may be programs to deal with mass layoffs like you experienced in your community.
This particular bill, as I understand it, shortens the upfront qualifying period, but it doesn't do anything in terms of extending the back end of the benefit. This bill may not have worked for your situation, in any event.
I notice there was a discussion about the $50 billion, plus or minus, that was in the EI account. As I recollect, my understanding is that back in the early 1990s, when unemployment was running at about 8.7%, the then Liberal government stripped a lot of benefits and increased the premiums, which resulted in that accumulation of dollars. It went into general revenues and was used for other projects.
Coming back to that variable entrance requirement that varied depending on hours worked--