Madam Speaker, the last speaker certainly strayed some distance in terms of describing the attitude of a couple of members on this side of the House, myself included. I hope Canadians listen to what we are saying and not the descriptions used by the member opposite.
We on this side of the House take very seriously the situation of the unemployed. That is why we have tried to make improvements to the system. The reality is that the system had to be changed to ensure it will be there in the future for the unemployed and the workers who need it.
Is the member opposite suggesting that we take out the provision in the Employment Insurance Act that allows low income families with dependants to receive a higher benefit level than they did under the old legislation? Is he suggesting that we should do away with the hours based system? This has brought 500,000 people into the system who otherwise would not be entitled to benefits. Is he suggesting that we deny part time workers who work less than 15 hours a week? Is he suggesting that we take them out of the system? Two hundred and seventy thousand women benefit by that section of the legislation. Is that what he is suggesting? Is he going to bury his head in the sand and go back to the old unemployment insurance system? That system is an end run where people never try to maintain long term jobs.