Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question asked by my colleague, because it deals with an issue I did not have time to address during my speech. Yes, women will be penalized. Why? Because 70 per cent of all part-time jobs are held by women.
We know full well that, under this unemployment insurance reform, part-time workers are penalized. Anyone who works fewer than 15 hours a week-and this is often the case for many women who have to spend many hours at home, because they have two roles to play and have to take care of their children-does not qualify for UI benefits, even though that person has paid his or her premiums. To qualify, that person would have to work 60 weeks a year. As you know, Mr. Speaker, there are only 52 weeks in a year, unless the government has done something about that in this bill.
So, I think that women will be penalized and that young women will have a hard time finding a first job. With the job insecurity we hear so much about, it will be tough for them to qualify if they have to work 910 hours a year to do so.
Again, what they would need are more stable and longer-term jobs. Given its lack of vision, what is the government offering in terms of job creation? In its first budget, there was the infrastructure program, but in its second budget, there was nothing. At least, it had included a so-called job creation strategy in its first budget.
I deplore the fact that there is no job creation proposal especially for women, who make up 52 per cent of the population. So, we think that this reform will penalize women, because it is targeting workers who claim UI benefits too often. Since women are affected
by job insecurity and hold part-time jobs, I think this reformis unfair and will be carried out again at the expense of the underprivileged.