Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for asking me such an important question.
The people who come to me in my riding are people who are no longer in the system. They do not qualify for employment insurance or for welfare. The lack of understanding on the part of this government for people who work hard is beyond me.
My area has the highest rate of unemployment in Canada. It is nothing to be proud of. But I can tell you that people who come to me are people who have unstable jobs, who work 14, 15 or 16 hours a week and do not accumulate enough hours to qualify for employment insurance.
They will certainly not get rich by working only a few hours at minimum wage. At the end of the day, their employment insurance cheque will not amount to much.
All they want is to be able to survive, but the new employment insurance reform does not take this into account. People are not treated with common sense as they should be.
I wonder when the minister and his government are going to have the same common sense as ordinary people. The people in our area do not steal or cheat, they are hard working.
If I contribute to a health insurance plan, it means that when I am sick I am entitled to benefits. But people are paying employment insurance contributions and they cannot even benefit from them. They want protection against something they fear, protection that will help them get through tough times.
But no. The minister opposite and his colleagues have decided that even if you contribute to an insurance plan, you cannot draw on it unless you meet some ironclad criteria. This is unacceptable; this is the reason why the Bloc Quebecois and the people in my area are denouncing these social iniquities.