Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to point out that we are talking about workers and employers who pay into employment insurance. Workers who lose their employment income owing to illness are rightfully seeking access to the same number of weeks of EI sick benefits as the regular EI benefits. It is a question of fairness, I believe, and those 52 weeks would be fair.
Moreover, you have to remember that a person must have worked 600 hours to be eligible for EI benefits. So from the outset, not everyone is eligible.
In closing, Mr. Sansfaçon, could you tell us why you think 26 weeks are not enough and why we need 52 weeks?