Mr. Speaker, the member asked the question in the past and asked it again tonight about people waiting for their claims to be processed in Prince Edward Island. He claimed that 4,000 people had to wait for six weeks.
We went back and looked at the records and in Prince Edward Island from April to October 1998 the average number of claims filed was about 2,000 per month. Ninety-seven per cent of those entitled to EI received their first payment within 28 days. In my lexicon 28 days is not six weeks and is pretty good service to people who apply.
His second point was about gappers. He forgets to mention that seasonal workers or workers with irregular working patterns face particular issues with regard to accessing EI. Some gappers are unable to find enough work so that the combination of work plus EI gets them through an entire year. This problem is most prevalent in his province.
We are sensitive to the plight of seasonal workers, and a change to an hours based system benefits many who work very long hours during the work season. The member has to understand that EI is not intended to be a regular income supplement and the Government of Canada prefers to put emphasis on creating additional employment to address this issue.
We have invested $2.1 billion in active employment measures and have renewed funding for the Canadian jobs fund which provides the most direct response to the gapper issue.
In New Brunswick alone the federal government has made $5 million available directly for the gapper issue in partnership with that province.