Madam Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois has launched a large scale offensive to bring the federal government to review the Employment Insurance Act. We have known for a while that only 41 per cent of the unemployed receive benefits.
Today, the Bloc Quebecois released a black book on the employment insurance reform. This book, based on Statistics Canada's figures, confirms that only 26 per cent of unemployed young people receive benefits. This is totally unacceptable. The government must do something about this.
This black book on employment insurance also shows that, in 1996, out of $6 billion in cuts, $4.3 billion was due to restrictions in the program, while the remaining $1.7 billion was attributable to labour market activity. The $4.3 billion was due to restraints in eligibility, the duration of benefits and the amounts paid.
How did we get there? The problem is that, in their latest attempt to overhaul the EI system, the Liberals were obsessed with fighting the deficit. All the government wanted to do was find ways to accumulate as much money as possible at the expense of society's most disadvantaged, the people who struggle to make ends meet.
The government must go back and abolish the intensity rule, which penalizes seasonal workers. It must reduce the number of hours required in a first job. We must ensure that we have all the information needed to correct this reform, which creates social iniquity and also has the unfortunate effect of lagging behind society and the labour market.
The government has not yet decided what to do about independent workers. It does not know exactly how to adapt to the new conditions of precarious employment. It is forcing everyone to pay contributions from the first hour, but the end result is that many people, 74% of young people, are contributing, but not getting the benefits.
When will the federal government finally decide to review the Employment Insurance Act and give it back its true purpose of ensuring a decent income between jobs for people who are unemployed?