moved for leave to introduce Bill C-471, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (elimination of the waiting period in a natural disaster).
Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my colleague, the member for Drummond, for supporting this bill, which would eliminate the waiting period in a natural disaster.
What has motivated my colleague and me, as well as all the members from the Montérégie region, is last year's terrible ice storm. People who had paid EI premiums all their lives were denied benefits right when they needed them most.
With this bill, the inhabitants of Manitoba, Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and the Montérégie region could now draw from this fund, and a rich one it is at $20 billion, in the event of a natural disaster. That is when people need assistance.
I therefore urge the House to support this bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)