Mr. Speaker, unemployment is on the rise. Yet two out of three unemployed workers will fail to qualify for any EI benefits at all. The rules are so strict that hardly anybody qualifies any more. This is in spite of a $750 million a month surplus.
The U.S. has relaxed its EI rules in the aftermath of September 11. Why will the government not use the EI surplus for what it was intended: to provide income maintenance for unemployed workers? Why will the government not relax the eligibility rules from 920 hours to 700 hours so that thousands more Canadians will qualify for some income maintenance as we go into this long winter?