The entire world of work has been paralyzed by the public health situation. The shock was brutal last year and continues to be so. There are still major shockwaves. You can see what is happening in Ontario at the moment. The economy is paralyzed in a number of places. So these income replacement measures provided for Canadians are courageous and necessary. We don't let the people down. We don't let the citizens of this country down.
Last year, when the CERB was established, employment insurance in all its forms was completely set aside, including regular benefits, sickness benefits or caregiving benefits, in order to establish a single benefit based on good faith. About nine million people lost their jobs and were able to take advantage of the measure, which was subsequently replaced by the CRB.
What Marie-Hélène Dubé said about the CRB was true, and I echo it. Sick people who were not eligible, or who were eligible only for 15 weeks of sickness benefits and cannot demonstrate even the slightest ability to work, are ineligible for employment insurance, of course. But they are no longer eligible for the CRB either and they are in limbo. A gap needs to be filled there and it is not too late to do so.
No one has pointed this out since the meeting began, but the 26 weeks of sickness benefits that are going to be provided will begin only as of August 2022. Why are we waiting until August next year, until 2022, when, in the current situation, all kinds of temporary measures have been established and then extended? You know as well as I do that we could move a little faster. It should have been done quite quickly.
We are demanding a comprehensive 50-week benefit, for regular benefits and sickness benefits alike. However, 26 weeks is a step forward. When something is offered, you take it. We celebrate it, saying all the while that it is not enough. We will continue to fight for it to go to 50 weeks.