Good afternoon.
Mr. Flack, I must tell you that what happened in Nova Scotia has saddened us at all. We express our solidarity with you.
I would like to go back to the statistics you gave us about the CERB. It can already be said that 7.1 million applications have been submitted since the start of the current crisis, which was not very long ago. We feel that the number of workers affected by the crisis may well increase and reach one third of all workers.
Since the CERB was established and made more flexible because a number of workers were affected by the crisis, we have succeeded in reaching a good number of those workers, including those who had no access to employment insurance. That is positive. However, these benefits last only for so long and will come to an end.
Employment insurance benefits, both regular and special, have been blended with the CERB for 16 weeks. There will be another one afterwards.
Since we can already predict that the current situation will not be fully resolved quickly and that people will be losing their jobs for good, it is important to ask some questions immediately. What do you see in the future? Even before the crisis, the entire employment insurance program needed to be reviewed, something that had not been done for years. Do you see yourself looking at the issue seriously? We know how precious a protection plan is in circumstances like these. However, the plan should have been broader. The CERB is already pointing out the weaknesses in the system.
I would like to ask another question. Ms. Young talked about maternity leave. Are you looking at that issue? We are pleased that the CERB has been made more flexible for seasonal workers, given that their return to work will be delayed, if it happens at all. However, people working in some sectors are wondering what will happen if there is no return to work in the fall. They are wondering about the number of weeks they will need to be eligible for employment insurance.