Mr. Speaker, on April 5 I brought to the attention of the House the wonderful news that women and part time workers had just won an important victory, with a federal judge deciding that Canada's employment insurance rules violate their constitutional rights.
Kelly Lesiuk from Winnipeg brought forward the first charter challenge that the Employment Insurance Act treats women and part time workers unfairly. Kelly, as a part time nurse, was unable to claim EI benefits because she fell 33 hours short of qualifying. Problems with her pregnancy had forced her to stop work at five months. To make ends meet she had to return to work six weeks after undergoing a Caesarean section and the family had to deplete its savings and borrow money.
Justice Roger Salhany found that the current eligibility rules which require workers to accumulate 700 hours of employment to qualify for benefits are discriminatory. He stated:
—the eligibility requirements demean the essential human dignity of women who predominate in the part-time labour force because they must work for longer periods than full-time workers in order to demonstrate their labour force attachment.
This makes it almost impossible for them to collect benefits. His ruling is clear. The Employment Insurance Act discriminated against women and part time workers. Women make up 70% of the part time workforce and carry most of the responsibility for raising children. This decision recognizes the juggling act of working mothers and indicates that they should not be penalized.
Because women continue to serve as primary caregivers they have fewer hours available for paid work outside the home. Consequently they end up working fewer hours, often in part time employment and, like Kelly Lesiuk, they fail to qualify for benefits.
Unbelievably the government decided to appeal this decision, with the minister saying that she needed to seek clarity. How much more clarity does the government need? An inequality is staring them in the face. Kelly Lesiuk and other women are forced to wait for the outcome of this appeal. Over 60 cases are also waiting to be heard. The government must act to recognize the real circumstances of women in the workforce.
Why has the government chosen to postpone justice for Canadian workers? What is the government prepared to do to address this situation? Will the government change eligibility requirements to remove the barriers creating these inequalities.