Thank you.
I appreciate our guests coming today and making their statements. It really helps.
I have a question for Mr. Yussuff.
You referred to the supplementary unemployment benefit. This is a negotiated item between the employee and the employer that actually is being costed to the employees on their hourly wages. The benefit kicks in when people are laid off and they are eligible for unemployment insurance.
We understand now that many people who were laid off prior to March 14 are eligible to collect this and are on normal EI, but the next batch of workers, who were laid off after March 15, have to go on CERB, which is a lower benefit than their regular EI and they're not eligible now for their supplementary benefit. This has really caused an inequity and has put some financial stresses on working families.
Do you believe that this rule the government has imposed should be stopped and that workers should be allowed to collect their negotiated benefit when they are on CERB?