Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak once again to Bill C-12. However, I would have preferred to give my views on a bill that would really address unemployment problems everywhere in Canada and in Quebec. A bill that would have proposed concrete measures to stimulate employment and thus have given back hope to thousands of people who are desperately trying to enter or re-enter the work force.
Let me tell you that I am always a little surprised, since we have been debating this reform for such a long time, to hear colleagues from the other side of the House extol the virtues of this reform, when everybody in Quebec and Canada is protesting daily to condemn the perverse effects of this reform.
So, let me say that I do not understand these members of Parliament who represent the people, the constituents of their riding. These people must also go to their member of Parliament to say: "What the government is doing to us does not make any sense. This reform is creating poverty".
There is no concrete measure for job creation in this unemployment insurance reform. Furthermore, the government is taking billions of dollars, for the sake of being a good government, and after that, in the next budget, it will brag: "We have been a good government, we have reduced the deficit by so much". But it did it by emptying the people's pockets.
Frankly, I would like to warn people when they hear government members say absolutely absurd things, and say that this reform is really the best there is at this time, that they really did a reform. I do not think they did a good reform. They are creating poverty. This reform is unfair, regressive, anti-employment, and it is creating poverty.
I would like to explain to our viewers how this bill will penalize the unemployed and those who are without a job, especially young people and women. The eligibility criteria are tougher. Previously, 12 to 15 fifteen hour weeks were all that was required to qualify, depending on the region. You had to work 15 fifteen hour weeks, or a total of 180 to 300 hours per year. Those who accumulated between 180 and 300 hours of work, depending on the region, qualified for benefits.
Now, between 12 and 20 weeks at 35 hours per week, or a total of 420 to 720 hours per year, will be required. In other words, an individual has to work, depending on the region, between 420 and 700 hours, or more than double the time, to qualify. For newcomers, that is to say those joining the labour market, the number of hours of work required to qualify will increase threefold, which means they will be expected to accumulate 910 hours before
becoming eligible. This is really an unrealistic expectation, given that there are no jobs. None have been created and no steps have been taken in that regard. The government is just hitting the unemployed over the head.
What is ever more appalling about this measure, this reform, is that once again women, because of their precarious condition, and young people will bear the brunt of a bad reform. Why? An impact assessment carried out by the federal government shows that the hardest hit will be individuals whose annual income is under $25,000. That takes the cake. It is a well known fact that women and young people are the ones who earn the least. Women still earn 70 per cent of what their male counterparts make. Once again, women will be the big losers.
Second, we are told that eligibility requirements will be tighter, eligibility being determined on the basis of the total number of hours worked over a given time instead of the number of weeks worked. In addition, contributions will have to be paid starting with the first hour of work. This means that the young student working for a fast food chain, not to name any names, who, as is often the case, was hired to work between six and ten hours per week, will have to contribute to the unemployment insurance fund starting from his first hour of work. While he is forced to contribute to the fund, this student will never get to draw a penny from it during all his years as a student employee.
They will dip into-not to say steal-his premiums in order to reduce the deficit. This money is really being misappropriated. Then they claim that, this year, they doubled the amount of money set aside for students, for youth employment projects, and that they really want to help students. This is a smoke screen because as soon as they start working, they will pay UI premiums without ever qualifying for benefits.
Bill C-12 will greatly reduce the number of people eligible for benefits. Furthermore, as I showed you earlier, even those who do not qualify must contribute to the fund, getting poorer in the process. Another reason why this bill is unacceptable is because it would consider spousal income in determining if someone is entitled to receive the supplement. That takes the cake.
Unemployment benefits will be calculated on the basis of income, when we know that women have always earned less than men. If both spouses lose their jobs, the man will receive benefits because of his higher income, while the woman will be forced, once again, to beg for the money to buy a pair of stockings. This is an unacceptable policy that takes women back 50 years. This bill is highly discriminatory. I cannot understand why the women in this House did not rise against this bill. This is appalling. Once they understand the clause concerning the penalty they will have to pay, all women will rise against this bill.
Finally, the bill seeks to reduce the maximum benefit period, which would inevitably result in a more rapid transition to social
assistance. Only 55 per cent of those who are jobless will be eligible for benefits. Where will the others go? They will go on welfare. This is called dumping the deficit into the provinces' backyards. The provinces will once again have to foot the bill.
And what about maintaining duplication and overlap? This will promote neither an effective employment policy nor employability, including for women.
There is unanimous agreement in Quebec regarding the need for an employment development policy. This bill will have tragic consequences everywhere in Canada and in Quebec, because the Minister of Human Resources Development, with the quiet complicity of the Minister of Finance, has decided that a reform of the unemployment insurance system was in order. We never opposed the idea of a reform, of modernizing the system, of making sure that the moneys are used in the best interests of workers. This is what we advocated.
Since you are indicating that I only have one minute left, I now come to my conclusion. Protests were held everywhere and there will be more, because the victims of this measure realize what the government is doing and they simply cannot accept it.
How could they accept, with an annual income of $10,000, $12,000, $15,000, or even less, that the federal government is targeting these people and ask them to pay for its mismanagement? When people have to make do with the meagre income provided by a system such as the unemployment insurance system, how can they quietly accept the government's decision to reduce benefits, even though there is a surplus in the fund?
This government will have to answer for its actions at the next general election.