Madam Speaker, I too want to say a few words on Bill C-12.
I want to support the legislation as I did earlier in this House because I believe the time has come for a change in the legislation. The past system was not working, not doing the job it was intended to do and just was not good enough. The system had served its purpose fairly well over the years but the time had come where it had outgrown itself and it was time for a basic structural change. I am not the only one who believes that of course. We are told that fully four out of five Canadians believe that the existing system is not working and needs to be fixed.
The legislation, initially introduced last December by the now Minister of Foreign Affairs, is meant to address the calls of four out of five Canadians for a structural change in the system. The
legislation is also meant to make the system more workable, affordable, modern and more functional.
I want to talk particularly about the impact of the changes on seasonal workers because I proudly represent the constituency of Burin-St. George's. This riding has a number of industries which by their very nature are seasonal, for example, logging, fishing, mineral extraction, construction. The overwhelming majority of my constituents earn their living from seasonal work activity.
The downturn in the fishery of course has not helped the situation. When I first came to Parliament I would stand in the House and brag that my riding had the same unemployment rate as Alberta at the time, which was about 4 per cent. The disaster in the groundfishery has changed all of that, of course. The unemployment rate in Burin-St. George's is the highest anywhere in Canada. It is 35 per cent, to the degree that it can be measured at all. Therefore, members will understand my particular emphasis today on how the bill will impact seasonal workers.
I believe that many seasonal workers will find the new employment insurance program to be a big improvement over the old UI program. One of the most important changes is the shift to calculating eligibility through hours of work, not weeks, which was the old, arbitrary method. Many people in seasonal industries work long hours when the work is there, far beyond the normal work week of 35 or 40 hours. People in those industries tend to work much more than 40 hours when work is available.
More workers in seasonal industries will qualify. Some will qualify sooner because of the extra hours I have just mentioned. Many will get benefits for a longer period. These are some of the good features of the legislation.
This change alone will bring benefits to 45,000 workers in seasonal industries who are now shut out of the system. It will add about three weeks more benefits for an additional 270,000 workers. I are talking about people like construction workers, fishery and forestry workers. They can all put in more than 50 hours a week. Under UI they never received credit for those additional hours of work. Now they will because the eligibility is based on the number of hours worked.
The new system will benefit workers in a a number of other ways. However, the benefits of the program are fairly well known and I believe I have an obligation to focus on some of the concerns which my constituents and I have had with the legislation.
As good a piece of legislation as it is, it was never carved in stone, as the former minister said. I want to give credit to the new minister for the efforts which he has made and for the success he has had in bringing improvements to what was a fairly good piece of legislation in the first place, but needed some wrinkles taken out. Through the amendments, of which the minister is supportive, which we will be dealing with in the next day or so in the House, it is a much better piece of legislation now than when it was introduced in December.
For example, I had real concerns about the intensity rule. That rule would penalize people who, through no fault of their own, could not find enough work on a continuing basis and, therefore, would have more recourse to drawing benefits than would other people in other parts of the country. I felt from the beginning that was wrong. I still believe it is wrong.
The amendments which are being proposed will largely address that rule, particularly for the person who draws less than $26,000. However, I still say that the principle is wrong. It is a principle that I cannot support, when two people who engage in the same work activity at the same rate are paid different rates of benefits. I have had difficulty with it from the beginning. I could not support it then and I cannot support it now.
What I can support is the marvellous progress that has been made to address the needs of the low income worker, the worker who earns less than $26,000. Without taking the House through the details, members will be aware that marvellous strides have been made to address the situation of the low income earner.
I had concerns about the so-called divisor method. I am delighted that the amendments address that issue. My people and I have felt from the beginning that their benefits ought to be based on weeks worked, not on some arbitrary divisor which factored in weeks that they did not work, for example.
I had some concerns about the eligibility rules as they affect new entrants. I had some concerns about the clawback of benefits. I believe these matters are being addressed, explained and understood better by people who will be directly affected.
The impact on seasonal workers in my riding and in Newfoundland will be good. It will be a positive impact. They will be better off in a number of ways than they were before. There are particular pockets of people it would have impacted adversely but I believe the amendments that will be put before the House will deal largely with those issues. For that reason I am very pleased to give my support to the principle of the bill and to the various provisions in it.
However, as I said and will continue to say and act accordingly, I cannot support the principle that says we pay people who earn at the same rate different benefits on the basis that they accessed the employment system more frequently over the previous five years. I will not dwell on that at length. I believe everyone in the House and outside the House knows my feelings on that issue.
The Minister of Human Resources Development and the standing committee deserve a lot of credit for the improvements they have made to the initial legislation. As a result it is a much better bill, one which will benefit my constituents and others throughout the country.