Madam Speaker, the matter raised by my colleague for Acadie—Bathurst is certainly important, not only for him as the representative of the people of Acadie—Bathurst but for us in government.
I can tell him, and I think he already knows, that the Government of Canada is always concerned when workers lose their jobs. I would assure my colleague that the officials of the Department of Human Resources Development have worked with and continue to work on a daily basis with employees of the airline and with the union and employers to come up with solutions and ensure that the employees affected have recourse to all the programs and services provided by HRDC.
Speaking of Air Canada as one example of many—and I stress that—the department and we are in daily contact with Air Canada. The Minister of Human Resources Development has personally met the representatives of the unions affected and those of Air Canada and has assured them that we will work with them so the employment insurance plan will help those employees laid off.
We are currently working with the employees, the unions and the employer to be sure that the members and employees of Air Canada get the benefits they are entitled to as effectively as possible.
I must say that not only are we working with them but under HRDC's program we visit the company's premises. Departmental employees do this in order to get information to employees as quickly as possible.
HRDC offers several forms of assistance to employees and to employers in cases of mass layoffs. As I have just said, we visit the employer's premises or a mutually agreed upon location in order to help employees fill out their EI application.
Since we are on site, we can gather the necessary information and process applications as soon as possible.
Discussions with company representatives—I am speaking here of Air Canada, but this can be multiplied by a number of companies, which are almost in a free fall right now, given the number of employees they are laying off—and unions focused on work sharing mainly as a way of offsetting the impact of the present economic downturn and reducing the number of layoffs.
Just to refresh the hon. member's memory, work sharing allows employers to deal with cutbacks without resorting to layoffs. It entails a reduction in the work week and a corresponding reduction in salary. For days not worked, HRDC will see that workers receive EI benefits, which partially compensates for the reduced salary they are receiving from their employer. Work sharing therefore benefits workers, because they do not have to go through the difficult experience of being laid off.
Although they receive a reduced salary from their employer, they also receive EI benefits and can continue working, which is obviously important. This also allows workers to maintain their professional skills.
I am certain that by demonstrating goodwill and flexibility, we will be able to conclude work sharing agreements with the airline industry.
Our priority right now is to ensure that employees who have received a layoff notice and who must rely on the EI system can receive all the benefits--