Mr. Speaker, I am pleased with the member's speech, because he is one of those who signed the report. I hope that, when my time is up, he will have the opportunity to rise so that the debate can continue. I also hope that we will not find that the government whip or a government member wants the debate to stop there and have the House revert to the orders of the day. I encourage him to make this point.
I would also like to add that the 15% increase that has been recorded does not come from the increase in maternal leave. In our province, we have not noted a sudden increase in the birth rate. Our problem comes from the softwood lumber crisis. We all agree that we must defeat the Americans in this regard.
However, we must stand by our workers, because there are companies that are losing money, and this is very serious. Furthermore, some workers are not earning as much as usual and they will be entitled to fewer weeks of benefits. Our society must stand by them and provide them with an adequate income during this period, which is not the case at present.
The government is asking everyone to stand up to the Americans, whose behaviour on this issue is unacceptable. But while the government is doing this, it should also tell them that when they lose their job, they will at least be entitled a decent income while they are unemployed.
Last fall, we made demands to that effect. We asked that the number of weeks of benefits be increased in the affected regions. This was dismissed out of hand by the Minister of Human Resources Development. At the same time, the Minister for International Trade is asking us to support his position and provincial governments are doing the same. The government should make a minimum contribution by guaranteeing an adequate income to these people.
The 15% increase in EI claims is due to the economic downturn, to the softwood lumber crisis and to the fact that tourism has greatly decreased. Moreover, the winter is very mild and this adds to all the other factors. In December, many people visited employment centres.
The minister knew since September 11 that there would be an impact. She knew for a long time that the softwood lumber crisis was about to resurface. Yet, she did not provide enough additional resources at the appropriate time to allow people to get their employment insurance cheque on time and cover their expenses. It was her responsibility to do so but, in this regard as in many others, she seems insensitive.
The minister's behaviour, including her response to our report and her not following up on the demands, of the unemployed shows that she is not capable of understanding reality, as it is experienced by the unemployed, and that, in the end, she is the puppet of the Minister of Finance who, in the meantime, is pocketing the money.