Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, sincerely, witnesses, for your testimony. It was very moving.
Félicitations, Madam DeBellefeuille, for all your accomplishment in bringing this forward. It took a lot of hard work to get it to this stage, and I want to sincerely congratulate you for that hard work and the difference this could make for thousands of Canadians as we've heard in the testimony today.
Mr. Sansfaçon, I was extremely moved by your testimony in particular and hearing that you're here on behalf of your daughter, Émilie Sansfaçon, who was the same age as I am when she passed away this past fall from cancer. Of course, Madam DeBellefeuille honoured your daughter by naming this bill after her and her valiant effort to gain the attention of the Prime Minister and his Liberal government, which is an extraordinary accomplishment for someone so young. I really want to express my heartfelt sorrow for her passing. Thank you for being here on her behalf. It makes me emotional to even think about what you're doing for her as a father in her memory, so thank you again.
I want to ask you about the progress that has been made, or lack thereof, by the Liberal government on this. As you and others mentioned in your testimony, there was a motion adopted in the House of Commons in February 2020 to bring sickness benefits to 50 weeks, and it was supported by all parties. However, here we are over a year later, and there is no progress on that. We know that the Liberals have promised 26 weeks, half the time that your daughter was advocating for, as well as Marie-Hélène, Julie and the other witnesses here. Even if that passes, it won't come into force until next summer in 2022.
I would like to hear your thoughts on the progress, or lack thereof, thus far, by the Liberal government.