Thank you.
Thank you all for your testimony and being here.
As I stated earlier, this isn't my regular committee, so I'm just here filling in for the day. I do have one question. I apologize because I'm not sure if this was covered during the other days of testimony.
I know we've talked a lot here today about maternity leave and taking that time prior to your due date, but I have heard of another situation. This is following up on my colleague's question of hidden gems, and I think this would affect the trades. My question is really open-ended to see if anyone has a response. If a woman is on maternity leave, then goes back to work, but is then laid off right after that—and legitimately laid off along with other workers, but still, being the only one who was on maternity leave—she wouldn't be able to collect EI for being laid off because of the way that EI benefits are calculated. However, a male counterpart who was also laid off would. I would think this factor is predominant in trades, where work might be dependent on the type of jobs, etc.
If the committee intends to make recommendations but hasn't looked at this, can anyone provide insight? Have you seen this as a predominant problem? Do you have recommendations that maybe this committee and the government could consider to deal with the fact that it's not just prior to having a baby, but it's also the return to work, and the issues of maternity leave calculations if a person is laid off?