Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We're going to continue our discussion, minister.
You said there were inaccuracies in my preamble. However, I view my role as that of a spokesperson. I am the spokesperson for those who suffer the consequences when measures are not taken.
Let's look at the facts, minister. Every year, FADOC prepares an insert in our local weekly. This year, my contribution to it was to write a column on the guaranteed income supplement. However, the fact is that many people called our riding office after my column was published. Seniors and family caregivers realized as they read the column that they or their caregivers who were entitled to the guaranteed income supplement were not receiving it. We helped them apply for it.
The other fact is that Marie-Hélène Dubé gathered 600,000 signatures from people who were concerned about the sickness benefits situation. The number of cancer cases is much higher than it used to be. The labour market situation is different. We must adapt our laws to the new labour market realities. That leads me to my next question, minister.
We're going to talk about the black hole. I know you're going to talk about the training program. I know you're going to tell me about what's happening in New Brunswick, where workers have access to benefits. However, workers are concerned about next winter because the measure you included in the last budget doesn't resolve the black hole situation. In fact, some people are concerned because their benefits are being extended, but they don't even know whether they will have accumulated enough hours to qualify for employment insurance next season. That's not including workers from Est-du-Québec who were told by their local employment centre that the training you mentioned didn't exist.
I don't know what to tell those workers who are still in the black hole. Furthermore, our committee has to examine the employment insurance pieces one at a time. That poses a problem when we establish our schedule because the House has asked us to look at benefits for parents who have lost a child. Personally, I'm asking the committee to study the situation regarding sick persons. However, we would not be talking about the black hole if a genuine in-depth reform of the employment insurance program was under way to respond to the new labour market realities, whether it be unstable or seasonal employment, which is really widespread in certain regions.
So I ask you my question once again: when will the employment insurance reform take place?