Madam Chair, in Quebec, 250,000 people have jobs under federal jurisdiction. We know that most federal employees are women. Actually, 63% are women. We saw the statistics right here. Just because all the employees are not women, it does not mean that the women who have a right to precautionary cessation of work, as it should be applied, should be deprived of it.
Being pregnant is not a disease. The idea of having to apply for employment insurance when one is pregnant, as if one were sick, seems to me to be antiquated and archaic. As women, we should fight for better conditions of leave for all women when their health, or that of their children, is at risk. I fully agree with Ms. Neville when she says that it should not apply in Quebec only, but everywhere. Unfortunately, the other provinces currently have no provisions like those in effect through the Commission de la santé et sécurité du travail whereby 90% of the salary is paid to pregnant women in Quebec who have to leave their employment.
However, I think it would be quite valid to do a study to see what women have to go through in the other provinces. That has a lot of merit and I support Ms. Neville's position on it.