Mr. Speaker, yesterday the federal government received confirmation by a benefits adjudicator appointed under its own Employment Insurance Act of something women, advocacy groups for the unemployed and the Bloc Quebecois have been saying for years, that the Employment Insurance Act discriminates against women and part time workers who are also parents.
The Minister of Human Resources Development has no choice but to acknowledge this judgment and eliminate this discrimination from the legislation, along with the discrimination against young workers.
This decision also confirms the necessity of a thorough reform of the employment insurance program. The human resources development committee has made a commitment to propose changes to employment insurance by June 1, 2001.
She will then need to follow up on the committee's proposals in order to restore the true role of employment insurance, which is to protect people's income when they are unemployed.