A universal child care network in Quebec provides children with a system that takes their development into account. There are various programs provided to children in Quebec's child care system: they have a stimulating environment, they learn to socialize, and if they have problems or some type of deficiency because of their home life, these can be more easily detected, etc. I am proud that my children were able to benefit from this system, and I am happy to know that other children are deriving the same benefits today.
As for employment insurance, the current program is rather restrictive. Generally speaking workers have a hard time qualifying for EI because the criteria have been tightened up. The program seems to be even more discriminatory towards women, since they often depend on seasonal work and their employment situation is unstable. Often, they don't have the required number of hours to qualify for EI. According to the statistics, only 33% of women manage to qualify under the current system.
For years now, we have been asking for improvements to the plan to reflect the type of job that is becoming the norm among a greater number of workers. Moreover, a bill is currently before the House, and it will be given third reading this week, but will probably not receive royal assent; in the bill there is a clause relating to self-employed workers. Self-employment is growing, since 16% of the labour force is made up of people who work for themselves.
That is another measure that could improve the financial security of workers, particularly women.