Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to the minister for coming this morning.
I don't notice any additional funds being requested for emergency preparedness, but I do want to ask you, as a follow-up to the disaster relief request from Newfoundland and Labrador after the blizzard, about one item that still remains outstanding. That is the idea of ensuring support for people who lost income for the period when they were legally unable to go to work or even walk on the streets.
All the businesses were closed. Particularly, vulnerable people—young people and those with hourly wages—have no access under the existing program for wage loss.
Could you advise the committee what efforts have been made to find support for that particular problem, which thousands of people have been affected by, particularly a lot of young people who have vulnerable jobs and need that money for essential items such as rent, food and upkeep?