Mr. Speaker, both the hon. member for Mercier and the CLC are dead wrong in their analysis.
The proposed changes to the program substantially expand coverage. We will be expanding coverage for half a million people who are presently part time workers. We will be extending coverage for seasonal workers by using an hours system so that they can establish eligibility earlier and have longer benefits. We will be extending the coverage of employment benefits for people who have presently exhausted their programs so that they can get back to work.
The net result is to give people a lot more opportunity to return to work, to get credit for the work they are doing and as a result achieve the most important objective, to give people real support in getting a job.