Mr. Speaker, thank you again for recognizing this poor little corner of the House. You have been more than generous today.
This petition, pursuant to Standing Order 36, petitions the House as follows. The petitioners draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: that the two week waiting period for employment insurance benefits is causing undue financial hardship for many families; and that the two week waiting period system means families must wait four weeks before obtaining their first employment insurance benefit.
Therefore the petitioners call upon parliament to revise the employment insurance regulations to remove the two week waiting period.
Just to summarize, the two week waiting period to us does not mean a lot, but people earning minimum wage it means a lowly $120 a week benefit. It puts their family in a very difficult set of circumstances in terms of waiting periods. In other words, they cannot afford to buy groceries or heat the house, so we are calling upon parliament to do something about it.