Mr. Speaker, one reason for moving to an hours based system, which is quite a fundamental reform, was to ensure that we would give full credit to all the work that was done.
For example, in many high unemployment areas where there is a lot of seasonal work, many workers put in long hours, 40 or 50 hour weeks, for which they get no credit. They get exactly the same credit as somebody who works 20 or 25 hours.
As a result of this major changeover, many of those who are in seasonal work and work very long hours for very short periods can establish their eligibility sooner and receive benefits longer. A quarter of a million Canadian workers who presently pay into the system would be able to have a longer term of benefits than they do now because of the hours based system.