Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses.
I'm going to start by making a couple of comments about how we're going to proceed in terms of disposing of this bill. We've had some very good, constructive conversations with people in other parties in the intervening time here. To lay this out in advance, our position has been a desire to see the expansion of some aspects of this bill, including to cover a situation in which a parent dies as well, because this is also a case where, if someone's paid into the system and, all of a sudden, that beneficiary passes away, that can compound the grief with added financial hardship in that moment. This is something that we have a desire to put forward in the context of this discussion.
Having said that, we understand that every private member's bill potentially has a hard road to follow. It has to go through all of the steps. In the case of a private member's bill that spends money, there is a need for a royal recommendation, and we certainly want to maximize the chances of this bill getting that royal recommendation.
I think we have an understanding among parties that, instead of adding the element of continuation of parental leave in the event of the death of a parent to this particular bill, we will do some separate study of that issue while proceeding with this bill without any Conservative amendments.
I'm putting forward this motion seeking the unanimous consent of the committee on it, and this isn't a surprise to anybody. I think we're all on the same page here. I'm seeking unanimous consent for the following motion:
That the committee conduct a two-meeting study on the possibility of providing for the continuation of Employment Insurance (EI) parental leave in the event of the death of a parent who is an EI beneficiary; that the committee ask the Parliamentary Budget Officer to provide an analysis of the cost implications of such an extension before the study begins; that the committee invite the Parliamentary Budget Officer and government representatives to appear together as part of the study; that any additional witnesses be submitted to the clerk by Saturday, April 11, 2026; and that the motion moved by Garnett Genuis on Monday, March 9, 2026, regarding the expansion of the scope of Bill C-222, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code (death of a child), be deemed withdrawn.
That's the motion.